A quote from Der Spiegel, 23 June 2008

Until now, the EU has often behaved like a boa constrictor in the process of digesting a calf – shapeless and motionless, but threatening nonetheless. Everything takes eons. […] And in Brussels, the metaphorical stomach of the snake, the place where its prey is leisurely digested, the slow passage of time is nothing short of excruciating. [...]

The scoundrels in Brussels have sold the European people a lot of things: a single market, the euro, the lifting of many border controls and, most recently, a binding global climate policy. These have all been good things, and they have helped make Europe an eminently livable continent. Despite the many dull moments and emotions that have been negative at best, the end result has been laudable.

Most of these improvements would have been held up, if not outright prevented, by referendums. Democracy doesn't mean having unlimited confidence in citizens. Sometimes the big picture is in better hands when politicians are running it, and a big picture takes time.

It's just like with the boa constrictor. When its protracted digestive process is over, the snake is once again an active, powerful and beautiful creature.