Cavaca Silva remembers Jacques Delors as “a great friend of Portugal” who played a decisive role in European integration.

Former President of the Republic Cavaco Silva remembered Jacques Delors, who died this Wednesday at the age of 98, as “a great friend of Portugal” who played a decisive role in the country’s integration into the then European Economic Community in 1986.

“At this moment when we say goodbye to Jacques Delors, I want to pay tribute to a true friend of Portugal, crucial for the integration of Portugal into the great European family,” writes Aníbal Cavaco Silva in a note sent to Lusa on the death of the former European Commission President .

The former head of state and former prime minister calls Delors “a giant of the European building process and a great friend of Portugal”, highlighting his “absolutely decisive contribution to the creation of the great European internal market, the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, and the Economic and Monetary Union , which established the European Central Bank and the single currency, the euro.”

“If the European Union has achieved success in this environment in many areas, it is due to the vision, determination and foresight of Jacques Delors, who knew how to overcome delicate moments in order to take decisive steps,” he emphasizes.

Cavaco recalls that during his nine-year term as prime minister he maintained “frequent contacts and intensive negotiations with Jacques Delors, a man whom he deeply respected and admired.” “When I published my book Portugal and My Country in 1997, I asked Jacques Delors to write the foreword,” he recalls.

“The contribution of Jacques Delors was of great importance for the success of the negotiations, especially important for Portugal,” the former president also states, pointing to cases of “the creation of a European policy of economic and social cohesion and the approval of Delors I.” and II”, but also “specific negotiations” for Portugal, “such as programs to support Portuguese industry (PEDIP), development of the Azores and Madeira (POSEIMA) and modernization of the textile and clothing industry.”

Anibal Cavaco Silva expresses “deep shock” at the news of Delors’ death and offers “sincere condolences” to the family of the former French leader.

Delors died today in Paris at the age of 98, her daughter Martine Aubry told France Presse (AFP).

A figure in the construction of the European project and considered the “father of the euro”, Jacques Delors was President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995 for three terms.