Why am I an EU enthusiast? Speech text by Ombeline LEMAIRE, MASSILLON

In the last 8 months, "Europe" has become more and more important in my life.

The first day I learned about the EU was probably when my teacher from primary school gave me a book about it. You know, the kind of book which is 80% made up of pictures and only 20% of text.

But seven years later, looking at pictures to learn about the EU wasn't enough anymore. In October, I did a European Parliament simulation. This event offered me the opportunity to discover the EU political system. Months later, I also deepened my knowledge about the EU with a cross border dialogue in Italy. A hundred citizens confronted their opinion about different EU issues to find solutions. I never expected, as a student, to participate in that kind of event.

For almost 15 years of my life, I thought the EU was only a union between 28, or 27, or 26 countries, whose information wasn’t important to me. Nowadays, the EU means more than a union state to me or a book with games. It is fighting for solidarity, social stability and economic prosperity. More than just knowing about it, I actually feel I can contribute to the aims of the EU.

Lots of people are criticizing the EU. For them the EU represents a constraint for the economic development of their own country.

But in my opinion “unity is strength”, and strength is what we need to get out of the economic crisis, to discover others cultures, to recognize the bad from the good. See, with unity, we achieved economic power. With unity we have a bigger impact in regards to human rights. Since 2013, the death sentence has never again been pronounced in any of the EU countries’ courts.

With unity we created a united new generation: my generation. Which I hope and think is mostly peaceful. We learned what happened during the World Wars, we learned what happened during the Cold War, and we don’t want it to happen again.

Now I hope that same unity will also help us to succeed in the environmental challenges we are facing. That unity will help to change people’s mentalities about climate change. When, as a 16 year old teenager or as a young child you learn that we are almost the last generation before it's too late, that all the burden of change is on us, you want to act and solve the issue.

Some friends say that I am passionate about the EU or an EU lover, but I also think that the EU needs perfecting and it needs to adjust to our times. We have a Commission, we have a Parliament but countries don’t respect the EU rules as they should. In 2008, the European Parliament established a norm for air quality, a norm which has not been respected by France nor by Italy, Spain, Poland, and so many others…

Also, in 1957, the Treaty of Rome established the principle of equal salaries for men and women, but this directive has not been respected everywhere (not to say anywhere).

If countries decide not to respect instructions, laws and so on, does it mean that the EU isn’t strict enough? Does it mean it’s not worth being part of it anymore?

Discovering the EU was not only discovering an economic and political administration. I had the possibility to feel European, and it’s that feeling that makes me look at the EU’s weaknesses with indulgence and to feel positive about its unity.

The EU has a past, a present and a future. We are the generation which is going to build the Europe of tomorrow.