Oral history of European integration

Belgian candidates for the post of President of the European Commission

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Interview with Wilfried Martens (Brussels, 2 September 2010) — Excerpt: the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Gaston Thorn and Jacques Delors to the post of President of the European Commission

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In this interview excerpt, Wilfried Martens, Belgian Prime Minister from 1979 to March 1981 and December 1981 to 1992, discusses the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Gaston Thorn in 1980 and Jacques Delors in 1985 to the post of President of the European Commission. He also considers the chances of Belgians being appointed to the post at this time, particularly Leo Tindemans in 1980 and Étienne Davignon in 1985.

Interview with Wilfried Martens (Brussels, 2 September 2010) — Excerpt: the circumstances surrounding the appointments to the post of President of the European Commission in 1989, 1993 and 1995

Video
In this interview excerpt, Wilfried Martens, Belgian Prime Minister from 1979 to March 1981 and December 1981 to 1992 and President of the European People’s Party (EPP) since 1990, discusses his own chances of succeeding Jacques Delors as President of the European Commission in 1989 and 1993 and describes the circumstances surrounding Jean-Luc Dehaene’s failure to be appointed to this post in 1995.

Interview with Wilfried Martens (Brussels, 2 September 2010) — Excerpt: the circumstances surrounding the appointment of the President of the European Commission in 2004

Video
In this interview excerpt, Wilfried Martens, Belgian Prime Minister from 1979 to March 1981 and December 1981 to 1992 and President of the European People’s Party (EPP) since 1990, discusses the circumstances surrounding the appointment of José Manuel Durão Barroso as President of the European Commission in 2004.