Former European Commission President Jacques Delors has died at age 98, his daughter Martine Aubry said. She said that Delors had died in his sleep on Wednesday morning in his Paris home, as reported by the BBC. Delors, who is described as the architect of the modern EU, also laid the groundwork for the single European currency, the euro.
Delors had also served as French finance minister from 1981–84 as a "statesman with a French destiny" and "inexhaustible craftsman of our Europe." French President Emmanuel Macron praised Delors and said his commitment, his ideals, and his righteousness will always inspire. "His commitment, his ideals, and his righteousness will always inspire us," he said, as quoted by the BBC.
The French President further stated, "I salute his work and his memory and share the pain of his loved ones." Delors served three terms as European Commission president, longer than anyone else.
Delors's term as the European Commission president saw clashes with then-UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who resisted any transfer of power to Brussels.
Delors played an important role in establishing key aspects of the EU's integration, such as the Schengen accords for travel and the Erasmus program for student exchanges. He is survived by his daughter Martine Aubry, a French politician and mayor of Lille, who ran for the socialist candidacy for the French presidency in 2011, losing to Francois Hollande, Al Jazeera reported.
Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator during the UK's departure from the bloc, hailed Delors as an inspiration and a reason to believe in a certain idea of politics, France, and Europe. Despite being a frontrunner in the polls, he chose not to run for the presidency in 1995, citing a "desire for independence that was too great". "I have no regrets," he said about that decision later. "But I am not saying I was right," according to Al Jazeera.