Frankfurt - Italian author Claudio Magris, 69, on Monday received a top German award for ideas.

The 20,000-euro (26,000-dollar) Walter Hallstein Prize was presented in the city of Frankfurt.

"My dream is of a European state," said Magris. He said the important problems could no longer be solved at national level.

Joschka Fischer, a former German foreign minister, eulogized Magris at the ceremony as "a great European intellectual."

The annual award is granted by the city and university of Frankfurt and Dresdner Bank to "European thinkers." (dpa)