At the invitation of the Universität Hamburg and the Hamburg-Vigoni Forum, former Italian Prime Minister and former EU Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni delivered the Hamburg Speech on the Future of Europe on 16 February. He was welcomed by University President Prof. Dr Hauke Heekeren in the Agathe Lasch Lecture Hall at the University of Hamburg. Against the backdrop of Russia's ongoingwar of aggression against Ukraine, Gentiloni focused in particular on Europe's strategic autonomy in his keynote speech. According to Gentiloni, the current geopolitical dynamics make it all the more urgent tostrengthen Europe's capacity to act. He warned that failure in this regard would not only jeopardise Europe's future, but also threaten its present.
The speech provided plenty of food for thought for the subsequent discussion with the invited experts and the audience. Joining Paolo Gentiloni on the podium were Liv Assmann, State Secretary and Plenipotentiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg to the Federation, to the European Union, and for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Dr Ursula Schröder, Scientific Director of the IFSH, and Luigi Mattiolo, President of the German-Italian Centre for European Dialogue Villa Vigoni. Prof. Dr. Markus Kotzur, President of the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg and Scientific Director of the Hamburg-Vigoni Forum, moderated the evening.
You will find a video recording of the Hamburg Speech on the Future of Europe here.
About the Hamburg-Vigoni Forum:
What holds Europe together? With this key question in mind, the Hamburg-Vigoni Forum aims to promote dialogue between science, politics and society on the future of Europe. The University of Hamburg organises the Hamburg-Vigoni Forum as one of its international strategy conferences in cooperation with the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) and the German-Italian Centre for European Dialogue Villa Vigoni. The forum is funded by the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal Government and the Länder. Further information: www.hamburg-vigoni.de/en
