Brussels, 16/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The day after the death of Claude Cheysson, former European Commissioner, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, paid tribute to Cheysson's commitment to development and dedicated the European Development Days 2012 to him as they opened in Brussels on Tuesday.
Barroso said (our translation): “We have just learned of Claude Cheysson's decease. He was Development and Budget Commissioner between 1973 and 1981 and was also at the Commission between 1985 and 1988 in charge of Mediterranean policy and North-South relations. Some of us no doubt knew Claude Cheysson and that is why I wanted, today, to say that we shall dedicate the Development Days, as we open them, to the memory of a great French and European politician who contributed so much to our common cause - the cause of development”. (AN/transl.jl)