ABSTRACT
In this chapter I explore the influence that a Commission President, in and out of office, can exert over visions and utopian dreams (or nightmares) of the EU’s future. I do this by means of an empirical analysis of the Delors decade (1985-1995) and of Jacques Delors’ trajectory upon leaving the Commission in January 1995. I relate this analysis specifically to the EU and nation state level debates of 2001-2004 concerning the future of Europe.
