My name is Kristiana Hirmo and I am fifteen years old. I am from Estonia. Estonia has been part of the European Union since the spring of 2004. I was only 10 years old then so I did not really see in what ways it changed anything.

In Estonia, it was very difficult to find a job, so only my father worked, while my mother stayed at home. The minimum wage was too small, so when Estonia joined the European Union, my father came and tried working in Ireland.

After about a year, the whole family moved here, and my brother and I went to school. My mother also started looking for a job and soon she had one. I have lived in Ireland for almost 5 years now, and during these 5 years, I had never even thought that it was thanks to the European Union that my family and I were able to move here. I had never understood what European meant until just recently.

The European Union helps the European citizens in numerous ways. For example, one of the things I am very grateful for is that it is not only safer but also cheaper to travel into other European countries like Spain, France and Germany. In the past, it would have been difficult to cross country borders. It was probably because the countries did not trust each other and had to see a lot of papers before you were allowed to enter the country.

The European Union is also a great trading bloc and because of that, life is easier for many people. There is a lot of trade between America and Europe. Things that they don’t have in some countries can easily be imported from other countries.

They say as Ireland has ratified the Lisbon treaty, the European Union will be able to work efficiently from now on. This benefits a few hundred million citizens. Another obvious good thing about the European Union is that there are no more Wars. There are no more scary dictators who only want to take over the world. That is simply because European Union has brought peace to European countries. Also as the name "European Union" states, it means all the EU countries are united and are able work together and trust each other.

I am very glad that both Ireland and Estonia are in the European Union. Being able to move to Ireland with my family is the main reason why I am happy. My English would have never been as good as it is now if we had stayed in Estonia, only learning English every few days in school or by watching a lot of movies.

As I mentioned above, since the minimum wage in Estonia was lower than here in Ireland, it would have been harder for my parents to take care of our family. I am definitely not the only person to be benefited from the European Union in these ways. I am sure there are over a few hundred million people who are grateful for the European Union because they were able to move to a different European country and learn the language as well as the culture of that country.

If someone were to ask me if I consider myself more Irish or more Estonian, I would reply that I am European, because both countries are part of the European Union and this is where I live.