Errm, one huge reason why the EU bureaucracy can be so comparatively small is precisely because it relies on the domestic bureaucracies of its constituent state

Errm, one huge reason why the EU bureaucracy can be so comparatively small is precisely because it relies on the domestic bureaucracies of its constituent states to translate its decisions into actual actions that impact the actual people living there. That is, the actions of the domestic bureaucracies that people actually interact with aren't merely some unrelated thing that people are basing their view of EU bureaucracy on, they effectively act as the public face of that bureaucracy and the rules it creates.