First - I appreciate the level headed response, Nostr is so great for this.
I read a book by Eduard Habsburg over the holidays (“seven rules for turbulent times”) and one of the points he makes about empires, is that succesful ones should always devolve things to the lowest level possible, ie what can be done on local level should be done there. Decentralisation!
This is probably what I hate most about the EU, the tendency for bureaucrats in Brussels to want to decide whether the lights in my street should be on or off at a certain time (hypothetical example but you get the idea). It’s total overreach from far away. Increasingly it also feels like an institution abused by national governments to pass things national populations don’t want and force it down our throats as a fait accompli (immigration, chat control, crypto laws, that sort of thing).
This all pains me because I am a proud European and I love some of the benefits of integration. But the institution needs to change as it’s making a lot of people extremely upset in its current form and tendencies.