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Jacques Delors, who has died aged 98, was a French intellectual, a socialist and one of the most effective and influential presidents of the Commission in the history of the EU; he was also, arguably, the man who did most to bring about the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.
Tributes are pouring in for Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission, who has died at the age of 98, according to French media reports citing his daughter Martine Aubry. Delors played a critical role in designing the euro and creating the single market during his time in office in Brussels from 1985 to 1995. In that period, the Maastricht Treaty transformed the European Communities into the European Union. The "Delors Report" paved the way for economic and monetary union.