As a non-European who sometimes reads EU news, I think this is spot on. If you're a politician in Europe, the real goal is a position in your national government or parliament; the EU institutions are nothing more than a consolation prize, and so they're full of marginal opinions, also-ran politicians, disgraced former ministers, etc.

Here, being MEP is perceived as being on a lucrative political exile - those who are there cannot do damage to local politics.

And frankly, it's the commission ordinary citizens have least control of.

The good ol' "we don't like the EU, so we'll sink ourselves and everyone else trying to sabotage it, just to prove everyone that EU was a bad idea".

It is that scum which has so far stopped these proposals. The Parliament does not like surveillance while the Council does.

I agree, a citizen of yet another EU country