P
rince
of
A
sturias
A
wards
1981-2014. S
peeches
5
Firstly, as President of the Commission of the European Communities, Mr Delors has devoted his
energy in collaboration with the Member States to the building of a solid and dynamic European
Community in fulfilment of an idea which has found a strong place in the minds and hearts of
millions of fellow European citizens in recent years. The building of Europe has not been easy and
has only been made possible by the cooperation of many states and interests.
It is also the case that, contrary to the views of some pessimists, the enlargement of the
European Community, most recently through the addition of Spain and Portugal, has markedly
increased the dynamism of our Community and enlarged its horizons via the influx of new ideas
and historical links. We live in a European Community, which has clearly regained its vigour and
increased its internal cohesion on both the economic and social level.
Secondly, as the world’s major trading power and heir to remarkable intellectual and cultural
diversity, this Community inevitably has a growing major role to play in the world. Under Mr
Delors’ leadership as President of the Commission, we have given high priority to the development
of links with our partners around the globe, not only in view of trade and aid, but also because of
the rich legacy of human values for which we stand.
Jacques Delors was President of the
European Commission between 1985
and 1995.
—
Extract from the speech given on
the occasion of receiving the Prince
of Asturias Award for International
Cooperation on 21/10/1989.
David Williamson, on
behalf of Jacques Delors
—
Prince of Asturias
Award for International
Cooperation 1989
