This does make things difficult, but also quite exciting. As public participation at the EU level is weak and non-existent it is on the one hand difficult to see where one might direct effort, but on the other hand, perhaps there are untried approaches that could be discovered or created. A bit of an open field, one might say.
I read ET in part because I want to "know something" about European politics. Not, just EU politics, and my own national politics, but politics for all of Europe. A lot is done at the national level, and at the local level, and for me a lot of value from ET comes in getting a taste of how "it" is done all across this wonderful union.
I am quite looking forward to the French elections next year. I have some French colleges, I am already harassing them for information and opinions. One thing I have learned so far, they all hate Sarko with some passion, thank god. (And one (non-French, Sarko-hating) college almost had a violent confrontation over him with a (French, Sarko-loving) neighbour.) Should be an exciting spectacle. I do love the spectator sport aspect of politics...