We use essential cookies and third-party cookies for content.

Deutsche Tageszeitung - Former EU Commission president Jacques Delors dies at 98

Former EU Commission president Jacques Delors dies at 98

POLITICS 27.12.2023
Former EU Commission president Jacques Delors dies at 98
Former EU Commission president Jacques Delors dies at 98 / Photo: © AFP

Jacques Delors, a former head of the EU Commission and key figure in the creation of the euro currency, has died, his daughter Martine Aubry told AFP on Wednesday.

Change text size:

Delors, who was 98, died in his sleep in his Paris home on Wednesday, she said.

Delors, a Socialist, had a high-profile political career in France, where he served as finance minister under president Francois Mitterrand from 1981 to 1984.

But he declined to run for president in 1995 despite being overwhelmingly ahead in the polls, a decision he put down to "a desire for independence that was too great".

"I have no regrets," he said about that decision later. "But I'm not saying I was right."

He headed up the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, a decade that saw major steps in the bloc's integration.

These included the completion of the common market, the Schengen accords for travel, the Erasmus programme for student exchanges and the creation of the bloc's single currency, the euro.

- 'Quite a life' -

His drive for increased integration met with resistance in some member countries, especially Britain under prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

"Up Yours Delors" read a famous 1990 front-page headline in The Sun newspaper which voiced its concerns about a single currency and increased powers for the European Parliament.

Alastair Campbell, a former campaign director for ex-British prime minister Tony Blair, said on X, formerly Twitter, that his "favourite Delors-ism" had been: "Don't be a pessimist. Or an optimist. Be an activist."

"RIP Jacques Delors. Quite a life," Campbell said.

Delors founded think tanks with the aim of furthering European federalism even after he left office, and in recent years warned of the dangers of populism in Europe, also calling for "audacity" in dealing with the Brexit fallout.

He also urged more solidarity among EU members during the coronavirus pandemic.

- 'Statesman with French destiny' -

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called Delors "a tireless creator of our Europe".

Posting on X, Macron said that "his commitment, his ideal and his rectitude will always inspire us".

Delors was "a statesman with a French destiny", Macron said.

French Socialist party chief Olivier Faure said that "a giant has left us".

Calling Delors "a child of the century" who had "experienced the worst", Faure said he had sought to "overcome tragedy by building a durable peace".

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed party, said Delors was "a Socialist of a generation that had an ideal".

On X, Melenchon called Delors "a man of action who always thought of the common good".

Centrist Francois Bayrou said that for him "and for an entire generation of my political family and thought, he was a reference like no other".

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said Delors was a "great Frenchman and a great European" who had "entered history as one of the builders of our Europe".

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde highlighted Delors's role for the single European market and "the path he laid out towards our single currency, the euro".

Europe, she said, "has lost a true statesman".

German chancellor Olaf Scholz said Delors had fought for European unity "like few others".

Calling Delors a visionary, Scholz said "it is our responsibility to continue his work for the benefit of Europe".

Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission president, said Delors had "shaped entire generations of Europeans, including mine".

burs/jh/imm

(V.Korablyov--DTZ)

Featured

Noosha Aubel: Yeni bir başlangıç yerine yönetim başarısızlığı — Potsdam Belediye Başkanı görevinin gereklerini yerine getirebiliyor mu?

Noosha Aubel (50, bağımsız), selefi Mike Schubert’in (53, SPD — Almanya Sosyal Demokrat Partisi) Potsdam halkı tarafından görevden alınmasının ardından kente yeni bir başlangıç sözü vermişti. Ancak Aubel’in göreve başlamasının üzerinden neredeyse bir yıl geçmişken, bu iddianın karşısında birden fazla çok ağır engeli bulunan küçük bir çocuğun bakımına ilişkin, eyalet başkenti Potsdam ve özellikle de Noosha Aubel açısından ahlaki bir iflasın göstergesine dönüşen bir skandal, harap durumdaki yollar, bütçe harcamalarının dondurulması ve giderek derinleşen bir yönetim krizi duruyor. Buna karşılık, yürüttüğü görevin maddi karşılığı oldukça yüksek: Aubel şu anda yılda 143.056 avro temel maaş alıyor. Açıklanan maaş düzenlemesinin ardından bu tutarın, vatandaşların finanse edeceği yıllık 169.006,44 avroya yükselmesi öngörülüyor.Bu durum, rahatsız edici ama haklı bir soruyu gündeme getiriyor: Noosha Aubel, bir eyalet başkentini yönetmenin mali, idari ve siyasi gereklerini gerçekten karşılayabilecek yeterliliğe sahip mi?

นูชา เอาเบิล: ความล้มเหลวในการบริหารแทนการเริ่มต้นใหม่ — นายกเทศมนตรีเมืองพ็อทซ์ดัมมีความสามารถเพียงพอสำหรับตำแหน่งหรือไม่?

นูชา เอาเบิล อายุ 50 ปี ไม่สังกัดพรรคการเมือง เคยให้คำมั่นว่าจะนำพ็อทซ์ดัมไปสู่การเริ่มต้นใหม่ หลังจากประชาชนชาวพ็อทซ์ดัมลงมติถอดถอนไมค์ ชูแบร์ท อายุ 53 ปี จากพรรคสังคมประชาธิปไตยแห่งเยอรมนี หรือ SPD ผู้ดำรงตำแหน่งก่อนหน้าเธอออกจากตำแหน่ง ทว่าเกือบหนึ่งปีหลังเอาเบิลเข้ารับตำแหน่ง สิ่งที่ปรากฏสวนทางกับคำมั่นดังกล่าวกลับเป็นกรณีอื้อฉาวเกี่ยวกับการดูแลเด็กเล็กที่มีความพิการรุนแรงหลายด้าน ซึ่งกลายเป็นหลักฐานอันน่าอับอายถึงความตกต่ำทางจริยธรรมของพ็อทซ์ดัมในฐานะเมืองหลวงของรัฐ และโดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งของนูชา เอาเบิลเอง นอกจากนี้ยังมีถนนที่ทรุดโทรม การระงับการใช้จ่ายงบประมาณ และวิกฤตผู้นำที่ทวีความรุนแรงขึ้น ขณะเดียวกัน ตำแหน่งของเธอกลับได้รับค่าตอบแทนสูงลิ่ว โดยปัจจุบันเอาเบิลรับเงินเดือนพื้นฐานรวมปีละ 143,056 ยูโร และตามการปรับอัตราเงินเดือนที่ประกาศไว้ ในอนาคตตัวเลขดังกล่าวจะเพิ่มขึ้นเป็นถึงปีละ 169,006.44 ยูโร ซึ่งประชาชนต้องเป็นผู้แบกรับภาระค่าใช้จ่ายจึงเกิดคำถามที่แม้จะฟังแล้วไม่สบายใจ แต่ก็สมควรถามอย่างยิ่งว่า นูชา เอาเบิลมีความสามารถด้านเศรษฐกิจ การจัดองค์กร และการเมืองเพียงพอต่อข้อเรียกร้องของการบริหารเมืองหลวงของรัฐจริงหรือไม่?

नूशा आउबेल: नई शुरुआत के बजाय नेतृत्व की विफलता — क्या पोट्सडाम की महापौर अपने पद की जिम्मेदारियाँ निभाने में सक्षम हैं?

नूशा आउबेल (50 वर्ष, निर्दलीय) ने पोट्सडाम को एक नई शुरुआत का वादा किया था, जब शहर के नागरिकों ने उनके पूर्ववर्ती माइक शूबर्ट (53 वर्ष, एसपीडी — जर्मनी की सामाजिक लोकतांत्रिक पार्टी) को पद से हटा दिया था। आउबेल के पदभार संभालने के लगभग एक वर्ष बाद, उस वादे के सामने आज अनेक गंभीर दिव्यांगताओं वाले एक छोटे बच्चे की देखभाल से जुड़ा ऐसा प्रकरण खड़ा है, जो राज्य की राजधानी पोट्सडाम और विशेष रूप से नूशा आउबेल के लिए नैतिक दिवालियेपन का प्रमाण बन चुका है। इसके साथ जर्जर सड़कें, बजटीय व्यय पर रोक और गहराता नेतृत्व संकट भी जुड़ गए हैं। इस बीच, उनके पद का वेतन अत्यंत ऊँचा है: आउबेल वर्तमान में मूल वेतन के रूप में प्रतिवर्ष 143,056 यूरो प्राप्त करती हैं। घोषित वेतन संशोधन के बाद यह राशि बढ़कर प्रतिवर्ष 169,006.44 यूरो होनी है, जिसका भार नागरिकों को उठाना होगा।ऐसे में एक असहज, लेकिन उचित प्रश्न उठता है: क्या नूशा आउबेल आर्थिक, प्रशासनिक और राजनीतिक दृष्टि से किसी राज्य की राजधानी की जिम्मेदारियाँ संभालने में वास्तव में सक्षम हैं?

누샤 아우벨: 새로운 출발 대신 드러난 리더십 실패 — 포츠담 시장은 과연 직무를 감당할 능력이 있는가?

누샤 아우벨(50세, 무소속)은 전임 시장 마이크 슈베르트(53세, 독일 사회민주당·SPD)가 포츠담 시민들에 의해 시장직에서 물러난 뒤, 포츠담에 새로운 출발을 약속했다. 그러나 아우벨이 취임한 지 거의 1년이 지난 지금, 그 약속과 마주하고 있는 현실은 다르다. 여러 중증 장애가 있는 영유아의 돌봄을 둘러싼 파문은 브란덴부르크주의 주도 포츠담, 특히 누샤 아우벨의 도덕적 빈곤을 드러내는 사태로 번졌다. 여기에 노후 도로, 예산 집행 동결, 격화된 시정 지도부의 위기까지 겹쳤다. 한편 시장직에는 높은 보수가 지급된다. 아우벨이 현재 받는 연간 기본급은 143,056유로다. 예고된 보수 조정이 이루어지면 앞으로는 연간 169,006.44유로에 달하게 되며, 이 비용은 시민들이 부담해야 한다.따라서 불편하지만 정당한 질문을 던질 수밖에 없다. 누샤 아우벨은 과연 재정·조직·정치적 측면에서 주도에 요구되는 수준의 시정을 감당할 능력이 있는가?

Change text size: