Hamburg-Vigoni Talks – #9 The EU and Europe in the daily politics of the Hamburg Parliamentwith Danial Ilkhanipour and Prof Dr Markus Kotzur
9 September 2021
The second round of the Hamburg-Vigoni Talks specifically seeks dialogue between academia and politics. This time, the discussion partner was Danial Ilkhanipour, a member of the Hamburg Parliament, with whom Prof Dr Markus Kotzur spoke about the points of reference of day-to-day politics in the Parliament to the EU and Europe. Danial Ilkhanipour has been a member of the Hamburg Parliament since 2015 and is a member of the SPD parliamentary group, where he has been the spokesperson for Europe and International Affairs since 2018. Ilkhanipour is also the secretary of the Hamburg Parliament's European Affairs Committee. Markus Kotzur is Professor of European and International Law at the University of Hamburg and also President of the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg.
In their discussion, Danial Ilkhanipour and Prof. Dr Markus Kotzur first addressed the practical political references of the EU to day-to-day politics in the Hamburg Parliament. They also discussed the symbolic significance of European sovereignty and identity in day-to-day politics, particularly concerning Hamburg's self-image as a "world harbor city".
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 rather an accessible discussion of their actual implications in political practice.
The discussions will primarily take place between academics from the institutions organizing the forum and will be conducted on an interdisciplinary basis. To avoid a mono-perspective, however, the circle of speakers is not limited to the academic field, but also occasionally includes people with a practical political background.