Interview with Étienne Davignon, Member (1977–1981) then Vice-President (1981–1985) of the Commission of the European Communities with particular responsibility for the Internal Market, Industrial Affairs and the Customs Union, carried out by the Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l’Europe (CVCE) on 10 January 2013 in Brussels. The interview was conducted by François Klein, a Scientific Collaborator at the CVCE, and particularly focuses on the following aspects of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa’s life: his personality, his activities at European level and his role as Chairman of the ‘Notre Europe’ think tank (2005–2010).