Jacques Delors inspired projects big & small, EurActiv … and my mistakes!

Jacques Delors is the godfather of my EU generation, and my inspiration as media and NGO entrepreneur.

Press tributes upon his passing are clear: after the EEC founding fathers, he was the key architect of today’s European Union. His policies, his blueprints for ‘EU bridges’ inspired many ‘engineers’ and ‘bricklayers’, including me. While meeting him only three times, his influence framed my career, in fact my life so far. Below, in short bullet-style under his keywords, I mention my own ‘bricks’, including learnings, and several mistakes (and separetely some footnotes * / anecdotes).?

One day, I might tell more stories… like a ‘history & future of Europe’s media landscape’ (any interested researchers?). As Churchill said ‘History shall be kind to me, for I shall write it’; but I would reveal more of my own mistakes.

The birth of Erasmus* : a game-changing infrastructure

At AEGEE Europe, a new student organisation in those days, we? heard of a small @European Parliament pilot project, Erasmus*. It felt promising, but mainly smaller countries were in favour, so we had lunch about it with President Mitterrand, and lobbied the Kohl and Thatcher cabinets . Back in Brussels, EU officials were flabbergasted... All this helped anchoring Erasmus as a full programme, at the EU Summit in Fontainebleau.?

Learning 1: There was now a need for a marketplace linking international students to cross-border companies. As a result, in 1988 I set up the EuroManagers job fairs, later part of the Vivendi group.?

Learning 2: Europe MédiaLab’s own? Stars4Media programmes also started as a Parliament pilot project. Once again, driving cross-border collaboration, this time in the media sector.

Euromanagers, EurActiv, Stars4Media, Europe MédiaLab: they are all little brothers of Erasmus and AEGEE-Europe, both inspired by Jacques Delors.

Internal market: media missing, pioneers grow

The fresh blood in Brussels was the ‘1992 generation’, pioneers of the next ‘Erasmus generations’,? preparing borderless economies. They are the people currently leading many European organisations (or preparing to retire).

My own experience at McKinsey EuroCenter on sector transformation, and later work at DG COMP, helped me understand a paradox: consolidation can be pro-competitive. Today, even largish media groups are dwarfs facing an oligopoly of two: Meta and Alphabet.

Mistake: The initial 1985 ‘internal market white paper’ triggered my PhD thesis in K?ln on European corporate strategies. An intellectual avenue I started, but never finished.?

Learning 1:? Favour action and impact over just thinking: ‘la politiques des petits pas’. The internal market plan drove me to ‘learn the EU ropes’: do a stage at the EU Commission’s relevant directorate. Next, I moved to European strategies @McKinsey, and corporate governance.

Learning 2: These formative experiences still inspire policy advocacy on a ‘leftover from 1992 ’: missing industrial policy for the media sector .?

Learning 3: Consolidation, given dominant platforms and AI challenges, is why we sold EurActiv to?@Mediahuis, an emerging European media group. Our joint goals and values are described in this press release from May 2023.

Euro: pioneers too

The ‘Delors group’ prepared what following EU mandates implemented well, and businesses even better.

Learning: The economy is still a driver for European integration, and is key for popular support. This is why Europe MédiaLab focuses on ‘health of the media sector’, not journalism principles, that others handle well already.

Mistake: When we set up EurActiv in 1998, we chose a UK Public Limited Company. We trusted Tony Blair, who asked British businesses to ‘get ready for the Euro’. Indeed, EurActiv’s UK accounting was all in €: unthinkable today. Later, after Brexit, we transferred the main EurActiv company to Benelux.

Climate: ideas shape change, eventually

Most people forgot that Jacques Delors,? at the end of his last mandate, in 1995, suggested a ‘carbon tax’. As a way to tackle global warming, and also shift taxes, making labour more competitive.?

Mistake (by political leaders): This was not adopted, until the complex carbon trading was decided. Decades later….

Learning 1: Never despair, policy has to meet challenges, eventually.

Learning 2: “Energy and climate” became a priority, and EurActiv’s most successful policy section.

Media & public opinion**: versus establishment, then fighting disinformation

The 90’s were still the closed door era: quiet talks between heads of government, and with business and union leaders. Eventually, often based on French proposals, Helmut Kohl (or later Angela Merkel) decided, in late night sessions of the Council. Ahead of his time, Jacques Delors himself was a great communicator,? with inspiring projects. But it’s even more different today: open and heated debates, fed by online media, and sadly fake news on social platforms.

Learning 1: We understood the weak point of EU integration: popular support, notably the missing European public sphere, chiefly European media. Three years after the last Delors’ mandate, the internet became an opportunity to provide ‘transparency and efficiency’. I left my European Commission job, and created EurActiv. Applying the same subsidiarity principles as promoted by J. Delors, our franchise network developed fast, into 12 capitals and 12 languages. Notably helping national media to understand ‘Brussels’.?

Mistake: Notre Europe, @Jacques Delors Institute, offered to host the first office of EurActiv Paris, which we had to turn down**.

Learning 2: Finally, lots of legislation is in place to rebalance the market between platform and media. But policies are not enough to tackle disinformation, hence populism. The bricklayer is back and? I now focus time and resources? at Europe’s MédiaLab on media challenges.?

EU enlargement***: go further East

Helmut Kohl and Jacques Delors supervised the quickest EU enlargement ever: East Germany.

While Central Europe’s negotiations took place after his mandate, his team did open the EU door, with the (1993) Copenhagen criteria (and EEA as alternative to EU membership).?

Jacques Delors was talking about his childhood in France, occupied by Germans. On his watch, this did not prevent great Brussels / Berlin / Paris cooperation. Before that, between France and Germany, there were three wars in fast succession. So far, two wars between Russia and Ukraine, with little geopolitical track for Russian citizens to consider. To achieve lasting peace one day, Eastern Europe needs notably better informed citizens.

Learning 1: Also before EU enlargement, the EurActiv network started in Central Europe?

Learning 2:? All Stars4media programmes, current and future, entail Central and Eastern dimensions.

Mistake: I missed a chance to develop a great EurActiv Ukraine ***. It would have been a bit like what @Pluralis now does in Central Europe.

Learning for me as continuing ‘bricklayer’: Think of infrastructure to bring people together, for impact. ?Complementing the online world, Brussels will soon benefit from two tiny real estate initiatives, two more ‘small bricks’ under the grand vision…:

in September 2024: Europe’s MediaLab sees a need for many more correspondents from Eastern Europe hosted in Brussels (currently a mere 18, to reach 200 million citizens…). So, we prepare a co-living for newcomers: the ‘Maison du MédiaLab’ ?(contributions are welcome).?

Open Door Day on Friday, 2 February 2024: our think-do-tank develops another infrastructure, its office at Résidence Palace (next to the media coworking space on the 1st floor). In a way, moving from the shadow of the Berlaymont (Commission HQ) to the compound of of the Council (the countries), and closer to the Parliament.

In my post-EurActiv time,? we relaunch the former Fondation EurActiv as @Europe MédiaLab focusing on several key Stars4media programmes , with boosted governance. In a way, a bit like Notre Europe? But of course not named after its founder! ?? Currently on a smaller scale, but with larger consortium partners.

Monsieur le Président Delors, cher Jacques: vous continuez à inspirer nos actions!

PS: this other post provides footnotes*,** ,** *) , and tags further relevant people.

Sharon Leclercq-Spooner Rick Zedník Bart BECKS Joachim Schmaltz Julian Oliver Willy De Backer Martin Beck ? Thierry Leroy Eva ?imeková Gilles Vanderpooten Max von Abendroth Daniel Knapp Irene Braam Geneviève Pons-Deladrière Renate Schroeder Ricardo Gutiérrez Aidan White Gert Ysebaert Marc Vangeel Geert Steurbaut René Moerland Claire Boussagol