Jacques Delors, mort mercredi 27 décembre à 98 ans, était un authentique socialiste, révolté par les injustices, désireux de changer le cours des choses. L’Histoire retiendra cependant qu’il fut l’un de ces grands chrétiens démocrates qui ont fait l’Europe. C’est tout son paradoxe. Nommé en 1985 à la tête de la Commission des communautés européennes, l’autodidacte boulimique, passé par le syndicalisme chrétien, a incarné l’âge d’or de la Commission en construisant, aux côtés de François Mitterrand et d’Helmut Kohl, le chemin vers l’euro.
Mais en France, il est l’homme de la rigueur, le « Jérémie plaintif » que moquait Raymond Barre, l’indécis qui laissa le désir monter pour finalement renoncer à se présenter à l’élection présidentielle de 1995. Ce rendez-vous manqué avec les Français l’a torturé. « Soit je mentais au pays, soit je mentais aux socialistes », expliquait-il sans relâche, en pointant le fossé entre son projet très deuxième gauche et le discours quasi révolutionnaire du premier secrétaire socialiste de l’époque, Henri Emmanuelli. Mais dix ans avant sa mort, il confiait au Monde : « Parfois, oui, je regrette de ne pas avoir osé, j’ai peut-être eu tort. »
English language article from the Guardian (I’m not sure which other UK news source to share as they’re all so anti-EU)
The BBC seems very neutral:
I would not be surprised to see The Sun “newspaper” regale us with a reprise of its famous “Up Yours Delors” headline.
Best not to let yourself be regaled and just ignore it. 
It was mentioned on R4 6 o’clock news, as was Thatcher’s battles with him, but very little really about a man who shaped so many aspects of present day Europe - big contrast to France 24’s profile.
The R4 6 o’clock news is the only BBC programme I still listen to, but I’m not sure why I even bother - this evening they gave today’s €- £ exchange rate as €1 = 78p, whereas it’s actually €1 = 87p! Obviously no-one there sufficiently savvy to correct this apparent dramatic rise in the value of the £.
Total disconnect from Europe!
Jacques Delors: EU heavyweight whose ideas faced stiff opposition
Very sad, especially for his daughter the current maire of Lille - but a long and well-filled life. Il aura marqué son époque.
There will be no Sun-shaped regalery here I can assure you!!
And here’s how the BBC decided to produce an obituary on a significant European politician on last night’s 10 O’clock News.
It turns out his life was all about Margaret Thatcher and The Sun. If only he could have made his mark in his native Continental Europe.
Every country are going to look at any obituary for him from their point of view, all will be different whether it is French, British or Greek, Spanish etc, most will have perspective from their view of him and the effect he had on them.
There’s a piece here on the beeb that covers his life in a balanced brit-centric way (who in the UK will care what the Greeks or Spanish thought of him?): Jacques Delors: EU heavyweight whose ideas faced stiff opposition - BBC News
To me, his idea of ever-closer union seems more likely to cause an early demise of a European union, because countries will not naturally want to hand over independance, and it puts a tool for breakup in the hands of certain kinds of politicians.
Link further up
It has always seemed to me that any desire for an ever-closer union must come from the people and not from the politicians. Great if politicians harness a popular feeling, but (as you say) any attempt to impose it is going to make people suspicious or worse.