Hamburg-Vigoni Talks – #7 The ‚European Green Deal‘with Prof Dr Christian Calliess and Prof Dr Markus Kotzur

25 January 2021

The seventh Hamburg-Vigoni Talk focussed on the 'European Green Deal' and its link to European sovereignty. Prof Dr Christian Calliess and Prof Dr Markus Kotzur explored the topic of European energy policy from a legal perspective. Christian Calliess is a professor at Freie Universität Berlin, where he holds the Chair of Public Law and European Law as well as the Jean Monnet Chair for European Integration, which he was awarded in a personal capacity. Between 2015 and 2018, he worked as a legal advisor to the planning staff of the President of the European Commission. Markus Kotzur is Professor of European and International Law at the University of Hamburg and also President of the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg.

Christian Calliess and Markus Kotzur have jointly analysed the significance of energy policy autonomy for the goal of a sovereign European Union. They focussed on the 'European Green Deal' and its potential with regard to increasing the (energy policy) sovereignty of the European Union. In this context, Christian Calliess and Markus Kotzur also discussed the extent to which sovereignty in general is dependent on sustainability.

The "Hamburg-Vigoni Talks" are a dialogue format within the framework of the Hamburg-Vigoni Forum. The series aims to relate the thematic focal points of the forum - space, sovereignty and identity - to current political issues and further advance the desired link between politics and research. The intention is therefore not a theoretical discussion of the presuppositional topoi, but an accessible discussion of their actual implications in political practice.

The discussions primarily take place between academics from the institutions organizing the forum and are conducted on an interdisciplinary basis. However, to avoid a mono-perspective, the circle of speakers is not limited to the academic field but also includes people with a practical background.