Brussels’ final salute to Jacques Delors. The European Commission will host the ceremony on Jan. 31

Brussels – A minute of silence for the ‘giant of Europe’ Jacques Delors: this was how the first college of commissioners of the new year opened today (January 10), with a tribute to the man who three times from 1985 to 1995 led the EU executive and the European project.

“This year’s first College meeting opens with a minute of silence in memory of Jacques Delors. Let us, too, embrace his strength and boldness to drive Europe forward,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding that the Commission will host “a ceremony in honor of President Delors and his legacy” on January 31. A ceremony that comes after the tribute that the French Republic wanted to dedicate to Delors on January 5 at the Hotel des Invalides, in the heart of Paris, with President Emmanuel Macron and all leaders of the main European institutions, several heads of state and government of the 27 and numerous French political leaders.

The first meeting of the college, but not just that: Coreper, the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the EU, also met in Brussels today for the first time after the Christmas break, observing a minute of silence together with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, inside the building that hosts Council meetings.