ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen has issued a short statement to honour the former French President and the leader of the liberal group ELDR (1989-1991) in the European Parliament, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who passed away on 2 December 2020:

“I worked closely with former French President and leader of ELDR in EU Parliament Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the EU Convention on the Future of Europe. He was a great Statesman, a great European and a great intellectual. A seasoned character who I liked a lot. We will miss him.”

Elected to serve as President of France in 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was a champion of European integration and led the European Liberal, Democrats and Reformists Group (ELDR) from 1989 to 1991, while serving as a member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993. Giscard d'Estaing made a remarkable career in European politics by building bridges between France and Germany and working on the European Convention on the Future of Europe.

Photo credit: openDemocracy / Flickr

I worked closely with former French President and leader of the liberals in EU Parliament Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the EU Convention on the Future of Europe. A great Statesman, a great European and a great intellectual. A seasoned character who I liked a lot. We will miss him. pic.twitter.com/WgCVeUlTNN

— Hans van Baalen (@hansvanbaalen) December 3, 2020