Mr. Robert Schuman removed his spectacles, folded his paper and laid it down on the wooden coffee table beside his comfortable chair. He massaged his forehead with his hand/distinctly feeling the truth of his conclusion. Europe was in a mess!

It was common knowledge to everyone that England had toppled head first into economic turmoil, common knowledge that millions of young men had died because of a few selfish people whom they had never met and it was certainly widely known that half the cIties Europe had been reduced to little more than a layer of rubble. Europe was tearing itself to bits.

In truth he hated it, the suffering, anger, discord, but what could he do? He tilted his head upwards and staring at the ceiling as though the answers lay in the intricate whirls of wood. Asking for disarmament was madness. He would be laughed at before he had finished his sentence. A wave of heat washed over him as the fire in the grate consumed a block of crumbling coal. He shifted his gaze to it and watched ...... something moved in his mind .... Coal, coal, coal?.

What do you think when you see something that represents the European Union? Do you see it as something remote and unimportant to Ireland?, something only vaguely relative to our lives?, something largely ignored, but ever present like the nuts and bolts in cars.

All in all what is this EU thingy doing for me? Let's begin at the start.

After World War II Europe was in ruins, no longer the centre of power she had been. Half the cities were a layer of rubble and ash and plenty of the European countries were at each others throats. Europe was falling to pieces .. and then one man's impossible dream - a united Europe. A small seed that had grown into an enormous tree. An impossible dream that is now a glorious reality for the many citizens of Europe today.

Ever fancied lying on a beach in Majorca or purchasing voul-au-vents in a Parisian restaurant or hiking in the Alps? Today it is easy to visit most European countries. All you need is a passport, some euros and off you go. But, just for a minute imagine what trvelling must have been like before the European union was formed. Getting your passport could have taken months, lira, franc, peseta or deutschmark needing to be acquired not to mention hours spent with border customs. In other words costly, tiring and difficult. Today travelling in Europe is basically second nature, especially for holidays and business trips. With this, plenty of opportunities for work, business and study not to mention cultural enrichment have been created. It is now easier than ever to study French in France, German in Germany and so on. Business has grown considerably as a result. Countries are importing and exporting with ease and the introduction of the euro in 2002 only,made it all the more simpler. Going on holidays soon to Portugal, Belgium or Spain~ank the European UnionTor the ease of it.

Who makes the rules around this place? Probably a phrase you have heard quite a lot, I imagine. Of course you might think it has absolutely nothing to do with your school rules or community rules but that is where you would be wrong. Take it like this - your local rules are influenced by national law and what do you think national law is influenced by? ........ you got it - EU laws. EU laws are put in place to help coordinate !) how crime and punishment, taxation etc... They are in place to make sure that no country is .j treated unfairly, for example Ireland will pay the same interest rates as France or Germany. It is the EU who set standards - standards regarding food hygiene, living standards, health standards and the list goes on. The food you had for dinner ... yep, it tasted nice because the EU put standards up so you wouldn't get sick eating rotten chicken ...... . Thankful yet? - you should be!.

Most important how has Ireland changed since it joined the EU way back in the seventies? The answer - a lot! Pre EU entry Ireland was a struggling nation. Lacking industry, poor agricultural standards and infrastructure that left a lot to be desired, things were not looking good for us on a global scale. When we joined the EU, they sympathised with us oul Irish ones and sent us grants for nearly everyhthing. Using the structural funds we improved our roads, our infrastructure and our economy improved with it. Our schools, farms and industries have all improved vastly thanks to EU assistance. Now we are one of the richest countries in the EU and now it's our turn to help our less well off neighbours, and friends in the EU. Some might argue though (and I would agree with them), that Europe's money wasn't the best thing they ever gave us - no. they gave us a voice. A small nation like Ireland now has a voice among the giants of Europe and that rather than structural funding is perhaps even more important.

Do you remember punts and pence? Maybe? Not really? Well in 2002, Ireland and other EU nations got the opportunity to change their currency to the euro, which was to be a european-wide currency that would boost trade, business and generally improve travel conditions. When the shiny new coins arrived on Irish shores we all admired the shiny gold and silver colours for a while, then just accepted the new currency and moved on. But people do not appreciate the true beauty of the euro - what it signifies ......... it signifies our unity. It symbolises our cooperation and interdepependence. Perhaps Robert Schuman would never have dreamed we would share our currency but this impossible dream is now a reality.

So what is this European Union thingy doing for me? The answer is Plenty! You might think Europe is not bothered with a country like Ireland, but you would be dead wrong. Europe helps you travel, helps you study, helps you work, helps you pay bills, helps communities, helps the economy flourish, helps our infrastructure, helps you to help me. But most of all it helps you to reach out and make friends, where Ireland never had friends before - chance of camaraderie in a war devastated Europe and it worked.

Robert Schuman's dream has [mally become a reality. He was mocked and ridiculed for his ideas but look where they have taken us. And he has taught us the most important lesson of all. United we stand. Divided we fall.