Editing Jacques Delors (section)

==President of the European Commission==
{{Further|Delors Commission}}
[[File:1991, persconferentie Eurotop, MECC Maastricht.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Press conference (from left to right) with Danish minister of finance, [[Henning Christophersen]], Dutch ministers [[Wim Kok]], [[Hans van den Broek]] and [[Ruud Lubbers]], after the [[European Council]] in Maastricht, 1991, which led to the 1992 [[Maastricht Treaty]]]]
Delors became the [[President of the European Commission]] in January 1985. During his presidency, he oversaw important budgetary reforms and laid the groundwork for the introduction of a [[single market]] within the [[European Community]]. It came into effect on 1 January 1993 and allowed the free movement of persons, capital, goods, and services within the Community.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ross|first1=George|last2=Jenson|first2=Jane|year=2017|title=Reconsidering Jacques Delors' leadership of the European Union|journal=Journal of European Integration|volume=39|issue=2|pages=113–127|doi=10.1080/07036337.2016.1277718|s2cid=151526296|issn=0703-6337}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacques-Delors|title=Jacques Delors {{!}} French politician|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=21 June 2017|language=en|archive-date=10 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010134304/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacques-Delors|url-status=live}}</ref>

Delors also headed the Committee for the Study of Economic and Monetary Union, widely known as the [[Delors Committee]], that in early 1989 proposed the creation of a new currency—the euro—to replace individual national currencies. This was achieved in the 1992 [[Maastricht Treaty]].<ref>Michael J. Baun, "The Maastricht Treaty as High Politics: Germany, France, and European Integration." ''Political Science Quarterly'' 110.4 (1995): 605–624. [http://homes.ieu.edu.tr/~aburgin/IREU%20438%20Policy%20Making%20in%20the%20EU/Additional%20Readings/Additional%20Reading%20for%20students/Baun_The%20Maastricht%20Treaty%20as%20High%20Politics%20Germany%20France%20and%20European%20Integration.pdf  online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809053410/http://homes.ieu.edu.tr/~aburgin/IREU |date=9 August 2016 }}</ref>

In opposition to the strident [[neoliberalism]] of US president [[Ronald Reagan]] (1981–1989) that dominated the American political agenda, Delors promoted an alternative interpretation of [[capitalism]] that embedded it in the European social structure. He synthesized three themes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Warlouzet|first=Laurent|title=Governing Europe in a Globalizing World. Neoliberalism and its Alternatives following the 1973 Oil Crisis|publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=9781138729421|location=London}}</ref> First, from the left came support for the [[redistribution of wealth]] and  protection of the weakest. Second, a neo-mercantilist approach was designed to maximize European industrial output.  And the third was reliance on the marketplace. His emphasis on the social dimension of Europe was and remains central to a strong narrative that became a key element of the self-identification of the [[European Union]].<ref>Alessandra Bitumi, "'An uplifting tale of Europe'. Jacques Delors and the contradictory quest for a European social model in the Age of Reagan." ''Journal of Transatlantic Studies'' 16.3 (2018): 203–221 [http://www.academia.edu/download/61940641/An_uplifting_tale_of_Europe_Jacques_Delors_and_the_contradictory_quest_for_a_European_social_model_in_the_Age_of_Reagan20200130-80255-t7.pdf online]{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}.</ref>

The Delors presidency is considered to have been the apex of the European Commission's influence on European integration.<ref name=f24/>