On 27 December 2023, Jacques Delors, who was President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, passed away.
Jacques Delors was a beneficent giant of European history. He played a fundamental role in projects such as the completion of the internal market, the development of a Europe-wide social policy, the increase in the Community budget, the introduction of Erasmus and the euro, and the European response to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Thanks to him, Europeans are closer together. His ideals and his achievements for the common good of Europeans are quite simply extraordinary.
Jacques Delors was made an honorary citizen of Europe by the European Council in 2015, following in the footsteps of Jean Monnet (1976) and Helmut Kohl (1998).
The Foundation is deeply saddened by his death. All the more so as Jacques Delors was a member of the Foundation’s Board.
During the national tribute ceremony held in Paris on 5 January 2024, at the invitation of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, our President Pat Cox, former President of the European Parliament, represented the Foundation.
Podcast by Professor Robert Belot on Jacques Delors, his career, his values and his achievements as a great European: here
Jacques Delors with Professor Henri Rieben, president of the Foundation from 1978 to 2005