The former president of the European Commission and former finance minister under François Mitterrand died on Wednesday at the age of 98. European leaders paid tribute to his memory on the social network
After the death of the former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors, who died at the age of 98, on Wednesday, tributes followed one another, on the social network X, the President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen reacted, it was “a visionary, who made our Europe stronger” and which “work (…) has shaped entire generations of Europeans”.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said her successes were “many”recalling “the path he traced towards the creation of a common currency, the euro”.
The head of European diplomacy, the Spaniard Josep Borrell, welcomed Mr. Delors as a “giant”. “He thus enters the Pantheon of the greats that Europe has produced and whose legacy we must assume”wrote Mr. Borrell.
From Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to “the inexhaustible craftsman of our Europe” : “his commitment, his ideal and his righteousness will always inspire us”. From Brussels, where he headed the Commission from 1985 to 1995, Jacques Delors drew the contours of contemporary Europe: the Single European Act and the Treaty of Lisbon.
As well as the establishment of the single market, the Schengen agreements, the launch of the Erasmus student exchange program, and the start of economic and monetary union, which will lead to the euro.
Minister of Finance under François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1984, Jacques Delors was the initiator of the turning point in austerity, his policy marked France and Europe.
