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One of the leading figures of a united Europe has left, according to EU officials and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“He died this morning in his Paris apartment,” Aubry said.
The most important phase in Delors’ political career was his presidency of the European Commission, which he chaired from 1985 to 1995.
During his ten years in office, several important documents were signed, including the Schengen Agreement and the Maastricht Treaty, which laid the foundation for the functioning of today’s EU, and the Erasmus study program was created.
He started at the helm of the EC in 1989
Delors was at the head of the commission in 1989 when one of the symbols of the Cold War – the Berlin Wall – fell and he had to deal, among other things, with the reunification of Germany.
His closest partners at the time were French President François Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. According to AFP, Delors was one of the fathers of the EU internal market and the monetary union.
“A statesman with a French destiny. The inexhaustible thought leader of our Europe. “A fighter for justice among people,” French President Emmanuel Macron said today about Delors.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, described Delors as a visionary who strengthens the European continent. “His life’s work is a united, dynamic and prosperous European Union,” she said.
“With the death of Jacques Delors, the EU has lost a giant,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. “He went down in history as one of the builders of our Europe,” European Council President Charles Michel said in response to the news of his death.
In the 1980s he worked in socialist governments
Delors was a prominent face of the French Socialist Party and had previously worked at the Christian-oriented trade union headquarters CFTC (later CFDT). In the 1980s he held the position of Minister of Economy and Finance in socialist governments.
At the time, he was among the advocates of stricter fiscal policies, which, according to Le Monde, earned him the affection of West Germany. “He was an authentic socialist who experienced injustice and wanted to change the course of things,” wrote Le Monde in his obituary.
However, after returning from Brussels, he refused to stand for the party in the 1995 presidential election, even though polls at the time gave him a good chance of success.
After leaving office as head of the European Commission in 1995, he held no other high-level elected positions, but was vocal on the development of European integration.
For example, he criticized the lack of solidarity between EU states during the Covid-19 pandemic or the shortcomings from which, in his opinion, the monetary union had suffered.
The architect of the common currency was surprised that the Eurozone was flawed from the start
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