Former EU Commission President Jacques Delors dies at 98
World
Former EU Commission President Jacques Delors dies at 98
(Reuters) - Former European Commission President Jacques Delors, a founding father of the European Union's historic single currency project, has died at the age of 98.
Delors, an ardent advocate of post-war European integration, served as president of the European Commission, the EU executive, for three terms - longer than any other holder of the office - from January 1985 until the end of 1994.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to his compatriot as a statesman who served as an "inexhaustible architect of our Europe" and a fighter for human justice.
Michel Barnier, the European Union's chief negotiator during Britain's divorce from the EU, said Delors had been an inspiration and a reason to "believe in a 'certain idea' of politics, of France, and of Europe".
Agence France Presse (AFP) first reported Delors' death, quoting his daughter.
