The European Center for Economic Security, Technology and Resilience ECESTR is a meeting point between strategic foresight and practical action, which offers a platform for business, European & International Institutions, government officials and expert communities to exchange insights and generate solutions.
Its mission is to create awareness and discuss about challenges of fundamental importance to Europe’s economic security, safe advancement of technology and security & defence resilience. This gives the opportunity to move beyond fragmented policy approaches, towards a more holistic framework, still fostering innovation-friendly cooperation.
Through rigorous analysis, inclusive dialogue, and proactive policy engagement, the ECESTR convenes Europe’s leading voices around three core roles:
The European Center for Economic Security, Technology and Resilience (ECESTR) is an:
Bridging traditional divides between Europe’s West and East, public and private, formal and informal dialogue, connecting ambitions projects with European opportunities.
Cultivating Chatham House–style dialogues in a polarized world, where leaders can explore bold ideas without political constraints, convening diverse stakeholder communities across sectors.
By enabling sustained, high-level exchanges that reinforce democratic values and shared strategic ambitions.
In an era where economic power and security are inseparable, Europe must navigate complex interdependencies, strategic competition, and emerging threats that transcend traditional boundaries.
ECESTR believes that sustainable resilience is built on three fundamental pillars working in concert.
By equipping European decision-makers and business leaders with timely, actionable proposals on emerging vulnerabilities and coercive threats, we create the foundation for informed strategic choices.
Through developing shared frameworks and tools to strengthen critical sectors against strategic dependencies, and fostering deeper cooperation and solidarity among European stakeholders, we empower the European Union to anticipate and counter complex hybrid threats.
This integrated approach enables Europe to build economic systems resilient to malign interference and project European strategic sovereignty with credibility and unity on the world stage.
Executive Director
Florentina is the Executive Director of the European Center for Economic Security, Technology and Resilience (ECESTR), leading initiatives that strengthen Europe’s economic security, technological innovation, and defence resilience. She promotes integrated policy solutions and international cooperation, drawing on extensive experience in European strategy and diplomacy.
Previously with the European External Action Service (EEAS), she advanced the EU’s global presence through public diplomacy and security initiatives. Educated in Romania, Norway, and Belgium, Florentina combines cross-cultural insight with values-driven leadership to promote strategic resilience across the EU.
Director of Strategic Research Initiatives
Alina has extensive experience in security studies, with a focus on Eastern Europe and trans-Atlantic relations. She is an active practitioner, having run the German Marshall Fund Black Sea regional office in Bucharest for 15 years, Freedom House office in Ukraine in 2004, the NDI office in Russia in 2000-2004.
Alina holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bucharest and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. She is fluent in English and Russian in addition to her native Romanian.