The Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) in Florence have recently received the archives of Jacques Delors’ Cabinet from his second term as President of the European Commission, covering the years 1989 to 1993. The documents illuminate a pivotal period in the history of European integration.
The records in this transfer were processed by the European Commission’s Historical Archives Service. A detailed inventory, with a preface by Christine Verger, has been published with the Publications Office of the European Union.
The cabinet of Jacques Delors coordinated the work of the Commission and the College of Commissioners, while supporting the president in his representative role vis-à-vis the other European institutions, notably the European Parliament and the Council, as well as third countries. Delors also oversaw several Commission departments, including the Secretariat-General and the Legal Service.
The years from 1989 to 1993 marked a decisive phase in European integration, laying the foundations of the European Union as we know it today. Against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and German reunification, the European Community faced unprecedented geopolitical challenges in a moment of deepening integration. Under Delors’ leadership, the Commission played a central role in negotiating the Maastricht Treaty, signed in February 1992, which established the European Union on three pillars: the European Communities, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs.
The treaty also introduced major innovations, including European citizenship, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) — with its three-stage roadmap towards the euro — and the principle of subsidiarity, while extending Community competences to areas such as education, culture, and trans-European networks.
At the same time, the Delors II Commission pursued an ambitious budgetary reform through the Delors I (1988–1992) and Delors II (1993–1999) packages. These reforms aimed to reduce expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) while doubling the Structural Funds in order to strengthen economic and social cohesion, particularly in the less prosperous regions of the Community.
Finally, in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, the Delors Commission also prepared for the future integration of countries from central and eastern Europe, while managing the implications of German reunification within the European Community.
Now available for consultation at the HAEU, the archives of the Delors II Cabinet provide unique insights into this formative period of EU expansion and integration, shedding light on the negotiations behind the scenes, the political strategies pursued by the Commission, and the challenges involved in shaping post–Cold War Europe.