The European Council is the most powerful decision maker in the EU, and it decides by consensus except where treaties specifically provide otherwise. For a small country that's hell of a lot more power than the biases of Senate and electoral college representation.
Civil liberties between USA and EU are a toss: the First Amendment is strong in its scope, but on the other hand things like privacy are much better protected in most EU countries. American legislation doesn't do much to protect citizens against corporations.
I feel like I need much more protection from governments than I do from corporations - so putting the government in charge of protecting me from something much less dangerous/violent seems very very odd.
I suppose governments are regarded as inevitable, which is why this strange double standard exists.
Civil liberties between USA and EU are a toss: the First Amendment is strong in its scope, but on the other hand things like privacy are much better protected in most EU countries. American legislation doesn't do much to protect citizens against corporations.