This was one of the main reasons for the creation of the EU to begin with, to compete with the US.
As powerful as a strong economic country like Germany can become, they still pale in comparison in size to the US.
Working together cohesively with other EU nations could create a superpower to rival China, USA, Japan, etc.
I think when you are the world's only superpower, the worst of the world has gotten involved in the US's affairs.
Prior to my birth, the president's role was limited and congress wasnt as paid for by lobbyists.
If we look back at our government's founding, we have large interest groups pushing to maintain horrible things such as slavery. But eventually we moved past that.
I won't claim that things couldn't be better; we certainly have a lot of room for improvement. But I don't think we're doing as poorly as many people would like to believe.
The US's political system is extremely antiquated, and is not at all appropriate for a post-industrial economy. We do have a few nice things though, like a very strong protection for speech. Arguably too strong right now though, as it gives corporations nearly unlimited rights to influence elections.
I think the US government is sick, but the EU is new and needs to be a benefit for it to survive.
My assumption is that they are entirely incentivized by niche groups in each country that are pushing for reform to help their own goals. I dont see how many of their policies are beneficial to the masses.