At the close of a year marking both the centenary of Jacques Delors’ birth and the 40th anniversary of his appointment as President of the European Commission, the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence announce the reception of the archives of Delors’ first presidential term (Cabinet I), covering the period from 1985 to 1989. The archives were processed by the Commission’s Historical Archives Service. A detailed inventory, with a preface by Pascal Lamy, is available on the Publications Office website.
Jacques Delors' cabinet coordinated the work of the Commission and its college, and supported the President in his role of representing the Commission to other European institutions (particularly the Parliament and the Council) and to third countries. Jacques Delors was also responsible for several Commission departments, including the Secretariat-General and the Legal Service.
In the years leading up to Delors’ first presidency, the European Community experienced a period of economic and political stagnation, marked by interinstitutional tensions and disputes with the United Kingdom. Against this backdrop, Jacques Delors succeeded in rallying the Member States around the objective of completing the internal market and introduced major reforms through the Single European Act (SEA), which set the goal of creating a borderless market by 1992. The SEA extended the Community’s powers in several policy areas, strengthened the Council’s decision-making procedures, and enhanced the role of the European Parliament.
Under Delors’ leadership, the Community also addressed its budgetary crisis and the need for new financial resources through the so-called “Delors I package”—a comprehensive set of reforms aimed at stabilising the Community budget and reinforcing cohesion among Member States. The enlargement of the Community to include Spain and Portugal in 1986 further accentuated socio-economic disparities, prompting the Commission to adopt strategies to promote balanced regional and national development and support local economies. The implementation of the Single European Act and the “Grand Rendez-vous”, two major initiatives of the Delors I Commission, are particularly well documented in this sub-fonds.
Archival classification plan of Delors cabinet I
The classification plan reflects the organisation of the cabinet’s work and is structured into five main series: structure and functioning; activities of the President and his cabinet; relations with Commission departments; Commission policies and activities; and interinstitutional and external relations.
These archives will enable researchers to study the activities of the President and his cabinet, as well as their internal and external relationships. They will be supplemented in the coming months by those of Jacques Delors' two subsequent presidencies, covering the periods 1989–1993 and 1993–1995.
Photo: Jacques Delors, President of the European Economic Community, Le Tour de la Communauté Européenne, ou " Tour de l'Avenir". Photo by Christian Lambiotte. Source: CE - Service audiovisuel. © Communautés européennes, 1986