I was recently talking to a eurosceptic who thought that EU decisions were taken by unelected, foreign bureaucrats.

Unelected? No. All EU decisions are taken by elected MEPs in Parliament and elected governments in the Council.

Foreign? No. Everyone in these institutions is an EU citizen.

Bureaucrats? No. The Commission, the EU's equivalent of the civil service, has no power to take decisions. It can only make proposals and carry out what has been agreed.