Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: He was Latvia 's ambassador to Estonia from 1995 to 1997 , and to the European Union from 1998 to 2003 , when he helped Latvia join the EU .
Simplified: Andris Piebalgs first served as the Ambassador of Latvia in Estonia ( 1995 â `` 1997 ) , where he helped to solve the sea border issue between the two states . In 1997 he became the Latvian Ambassador to the EU .