European officials pay tribute to late ex-chief of EU Commission Jacques Delors

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – European officials paid tribute to late former president of the EU Commission, Jacques Delors, at a state funeral in Paris on Friday.

The ceremony was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Delors' daughter and mayor of the northern city of Lille Martine Aubry, President of EU Parliament Roberta Metsola, EU Council chief Charles Michel, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Considered the architect of European integration, Delors died aged 98 on Dec. 27.

Macron praised the stateman's efforts for European integration and his quest to reconcile European countries. "Europe's face today, Jacques Delors contributed to draw it, line by line," he said.

He hailed Delors as an "inexhaustible architect of our Europe" and a relentless advocate for human justice.

Delors, a driving force behind the creation of the single market and the euro, was president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, and also served as the French finance minister from 1981-1984.

His tenure was marked by a commitment to European unity and cooperation, which sometimes brought him into conflict with then-Prime Minister of the UK, Margaret Thatcher.