The EU is in a constant struggle for its direction. Discounting it as a lost cause only allows malicious actors free reign. On the one hand, EU regulators take on tech monopolies, like forcing Microsoft to un-bundle Windows and Edge/Bing. And european courts have repeatedly struck down legislation that would allow for indiscriminate data retention.
On the other hand, the EU politicians are currently trying to sneak through a law that would force browsers to accept state-issued root certificates, allowing them to spy on and alter any and all internet communication, basically upending the trust-based system that keeps the internet secure currently. This law is part of the eIDAS initiative.
And I’m sure that with the new, EU-driven right to repair initiative, the train manufacturer will be forced to back down soon too.
True, but that’s why it is somewhat functional. Otherwise it would be a mess, swinging back and forth between contradictory short term thinking.
The Arabian Gulf states are not democratic at all, and sometimes the governments go against the wishes of the people -mostly US-aligned foreign policies and social and economic liberalization-. But they sure can get shit done and massively. Kinda like China but on a smaller scale because all together the Arabian Gulf -without the foreigners- adds up to the population of one Chinese city.