The former EU Commission president Jacques Delors has died at the age of 98.

Delors was the eighth president of the European Commission from January 1985 until the end of 1994.

His daughter Martine Aubry said he died in his sleep in his Paris home on Wednesday. He created the single market that made the free movement of persons, capital, goods, and services within the European Economic Community (EEC) possible. The French socialist also headed the so-called Delors Committee which proposed the monetary union to create the Euro, a new single currency to replace individual national currencies. He was desperate to drag Britain into the European common currency, leading to fiery run-ins with MPs and journalists. Clashes with British MPs continued as Delors vehemently opposed Brexit. But he was respected as a passionate and hardworking politician.

Last night French President Emmanuel Macron paid homage to a “fighter for human justice”. He said: “His commitment, his ideals and his righteousness will always inspire us. “I salute his work and his memory and share the pain of his loved ones.” Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief negotiator during Britain’s divorce from the EU, said Delors had been an inspiration and a reason to “believe in a ‘certain idea’ of politics, of France, and of Europe”.

Former Brexit Party chief and Reform Party leader Nigel Farage, who spearheaded the Leave campaign, said: “Jacques Delors had a vision that turned the European Community into the EU. “For Eurosceptics like me he was an important figure who helped propel me into a political career. “My only regret is not doing battle with him on the floor of the European Parliament.”

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