The Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence has recently received the archives of Jacques Delors’ Cabinet, covering his third and final term as President of the European Commission, from 1993 to 1995. The sub-fonds was processed by the Historical Archives Service of the European Commission. A detailed inventory, with a foreword by Geneviève Pons, is available on the Publications Office website.
Building directly on the previous term, the Delors III Commission operated in a context profoundly transformed by the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992. The Treaty marked a major turning point, structuring the European Union (EU) around three pillars and transforming the Community from a primarily economic project into a political one. The archives provide a close insight into the work of the President’s office on the key priorities of the period: economic and monetary affairs, the single market, external relations, social policy, employment, research, institutional matters and interinstitutional relations.
The sub-fonds offers particularly rich insight into the central role played by Jacques Delors in coordinating the work of the Commission and representing the institution externally. It extensively documents relations with the Commissioners’ private offices, the functioning of the College, the European Councils, as well as contacts with third countries and major international organisations. Economic and financial affairs, external relations, GATT, trade policy and the follow-up to the White Paper on the single market are among the most extensively documented areas.
The President’s representative role is also strongly reflected in the files relating to G7 economic summits, official visits, speeches and public statements, as well as in a substantial body of correspondence, which accounts for almost 30 per cent of the sub-fonds. These records illustrate the intensity of presidential activity and the Commission’s place within the major diplomatic, economic and institutional dynamics of the early 1990s.
The archives also shed light on the day-to-day functioning of the Delors III private office, making them a valuable source for the study of the Commission’s governance methods under President Delors.
With the archives relating to all three of President Delors’ terms of office now accessible at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), researchers have a unique resource for exploring a key period in the history of European integration.
Photograph of Jacques Delors by Christian Lambiotte. © European Communities, 1994. European Commission Audiovisual Service.