On Wednesday 31 January in Brussels, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, several of her predecessors - Romano Prodi, José Manuel Barroso and Jean-Claude Juncker - and around twenty Heads of State or Government from European Union countries paid tribute to the late Jacques Delors, former President of the EU institution between 1985 and 1995.
Ms von der Leyen highlighted the institutional and political legacy that Mr Delors bequeathed to his successors, citing in particular the Single European Act of 1986, the deepening of the single market combined with cohesion policy, and the promotion of social dialogue (see EUROPE 13340/19). As a German, she said she was “grateful” to the French socialist for his support for German reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
As Mr Delors said, the President of the Commission noted, the important thing is that Europe, this “unidentified political object”, continues to “act with ambition and realism to meet the new challenges”.
On behalf of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, Alexander De Croo urged the EU27 to draw inspiration from the legacy of Mr Delors to “show the same unity” and reach a unanimous agreement on granting multiannual macrofinancial aid to Ukraine (see EUROPE 13340/1). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)