Jacques Delors quotes - page 2

Even in Britain, the trade unions tell me that employment contracts have less protection than in the past. (Jacques Delors)
These days there are not enough of such intermediary groups, between the state and the individual, with the result that political leaders are often unduly guided by opinion polls. View quote
Jacques Delors
My presidential victory, if it had happened, would have been artificial in relation to the Socialist party. It may be that on my deathbed, I will come to regret my decision, but for the moment, I live at peace with it. View quote
Jacques Delors
[Only federalism] allows democratic control and can punish abuses of power. Only federalism can guarantee respect for national character and regional variety. ... The springtime of Europe is still before us. View quote
Jacques Delors
The spirit of the Right is dominated by scepticism towards the possibility of profound change in society and above all towards the idea that man can achieve progress over himself. On the Left, on the other hand, there exists a belief in human and social progress. View quote
Jacques Delors
[Greek voices] must not only be heard claiming their due but also contributing to the European Union. View quote
Jacques Delors
He thinks I am the man of the past but I am still here. He is the man of the past. View quote
Jacques Delors
Cars are free to circulate but still there are speed limits, therefore I do not see why, at the international level, we should not study ways to limit monetary movements. Bankers cannot act at will. ... Why should we not draw up some rules of the game? View quote
Jacques Delors
If we are really on the way towards a political entity with a common foreign policy on basic issues, then I consider that France's nuclear force should be available to serve that policy. View quote
Jacques Delors
The crux is the reform of the treaty which would lead to common action. There must be a will to defend the central interests of Europe. If there is no majority voting, then the same level of impotence will continue. View quote
Jacques Delors
My feeling is that we will not be able to take all the decisions which will be necessary from now until 1995 unless there is the embryo of a European government in one form or another. (Jacques Delors)
Cinema explains American society. It's like a Western, with good guys and bad guys, where the weak don't have a place. View quote
Jacques Delors
The unions may continue to decline, but if they do, it'll be their fault. View quote
Jacques Delors
The unions still have a job to do, representing their members' interests to governments and parliaments. And I think collective agreements still have a role, alongside markets and laws. View quote
Jacques Delors
We have to struggle against the conservatives from all sides, not only the right-wingers, but also the left-wing conservatives who don't want to change anything. View quote
Jacques Delors
Farmers have their dignity, just as others do. It is fine to make efforts to make them react to markets, but you cannot then tie their hands and take away their choices. That is putting them in a straitjacket. ... I have always felt that the Community should be able to say 'No' to its big brother. View quote
Jacques Delors
...within ten years 80% of our economic legislation, perhaps even fiscal and social as well' would come from the EU. View quote
Jacques Delors
We will have to create an avant-garde.... We could have a Union for the enlarged Europe, and a Federation for the avant-garde. View quote
Jacques Delors
Therefore one should speak at the same time of national citizenship and wider European citizenship. View quote
Jacques Delors
Europe needs an army to fight the resource wars of the twenty-first century. View quote
Jacques Delors
Any union that can't accept workers choosing their own representatives through universal franchise is finished. (Jacques Delors)
If you don't have collective agreements between unions and employers, governments have to legislate more. View quote
Jacques Delors
The countries that share this conception should be able to go further together, without excluding the others, since they can still live in a greater community of exchange and co-operation. View quote
Jacques Delors
[I criticise those] countries that used currency devaluation as a lever to win jobs. I would refer you to one member state of the Community without name it. Those who devalue in an extreme way will find health at the expense of the rest of the Community. It's like three people shipwrecked-one person floats for the sake of the other two going under. View quote
Jacques Delors
[The European Union must be a] federal union with a common currency, a tightly co-ordinated economic policy and a foreign policy capable of common diplomatic and military action. ... Britain is refusing to face reality. Does England have a future outside Europe? No. But it is difficult for a great nation to bid farewell to its golden age. View quote
Jacques Delors