Please, parse my statements more closely. "monolithic evil empire" are your words, not mine.
Dublin is pro-EU. That I'll grant you. Get into the hinterlands and you get an entirely different perspective. Sovereign nations? To a limited extent yes. Certain rights have been left them, others ceded to the EU.
You can't disagree that the poorer member nations reap the benefits of the union while contributing little. I'm simply stating that certain rights have been ceded to the EU and that many people are unhappy with that and, as currently constructed, the EU cannot possibly survive. Why? Too much historical baggage, too much slaughter in past years, years of distrust. Support for the EU is predominantly in the large cities. Too many people in the hinterlands are unhappy at the loss of their livelihoods and many restrictions, forced sharing of resources, is slowly eroding support.
I have no doubt that the EU will survive in the form of a "trading union" where individual members will be deciding what is best for their country, not an international, self-serving bunch of bureaucrats. Those days are melting away with the rise in nationalism. Even Soros has voiced despair more than once that his vision may not come to fruition.