The Atlantic Council has formally opened its new regional office in Bucharest, marking a significant step in its longstanding engagement with Central and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. Announced as a “regional hub” rather than a purely national outpost, the Romania office is designed to serve not only Bucharest but also the broader Black Sea region, providing a base for sustained, multi-sector engagement.
According to Atlantic Council President and CEO Fred Kempe, this is meant to be “a stakeholder organization” that travels “only in partnership with the people of the alliance,” underlining the Council’s ambition to act as a catalyst for regional cooperation rather than simply a vehicle for American policy projection.
The launch event in Bucharest, titled “Bolstering the Transatlantic Partnership at a Global Inflection Point” brought together diplomats, policymakers, business leaders, and researchers to discuss both the rationale for and the expectations from this new institutional presence. In his opening remarks, Kempe characterized the current period as a “fourth great inflection point” — comparable to the aftermath of the two World Wars and the Cold War. He noted that the Black Sea has become a geopolitical fault line, underscoring the urgency of strengthening alliances and developing shared solutions to challenges ranging from Russian aggression in Ukraine to technological competition and energy security.
The Council has identified four initial priority areas for its Romania office. Energy and infrastructure is at the top of the list, with a focus on advancing transatlantic energy cooperation, improving regional interconnectivity, safeguarding critical infrastructure, and supporting innovation. This aligns with Romania’s strategic role as an energy producer and transit country in Southeastern Europe.
A second priority is technological cooperation, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. These themes emerged clearly in panel discussions featuring Romanian experts who stressed the region’s paradox of high-level technological talent combined with ongoing challenges in digital integration. Panelist Cătălina Dodu, a cybersecurity leader at EY Romania, noted the opportunity to build capacity by learning from other markets while accelerating local implementation.
Democratic resilience and Euro-Atlantic integration form the third priority pillar. Speakers, including Ambassador Dan Fried and analyst Antonia Colibășanu, emphasized that democratic consolidation remains a shared goal — and that mutual learning between established and newer democracies is essential. They pointed to the need to address the drivers of populism and polarization, to strengthen rule of law and good governance, and to reinforce the credibility of democratic institutions.
Finally, the new office, which will be led by Alex Șerban, aims to support regional, European, and transatlantic security — including through sustained NATO coordination, improved defense posture in the Black Sea, and continued support for Ukraine and Moldova.
In his remarks, Fred Kempe also underlined the Atlantic Council’s desire to embed its Romania presence within its broader institutional ecosystem. He cited the Council’s Global Energy Center as the lead program for the Bucharest office, but also emphasized its access to expertise across other centers — on technology, security, economics, and regional affairs.
The event included a series of panel discussions that ranged from transatlantic security challenges to technological cooperation and regional resilience. Participants repeatedly stressed the importance of shared learning and pragmatic collaboration, especially in light of the region’s recent history of rapid socio-economic transformation and the ongoing pressures of war and geopolitical rivalry.
For those interested, the full launch event is available online.
About the Atlantic Council
Founded in 1961, the Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism – supporting close political, economic, and military cooperation between Europe and North America, especially between European countries and the United States and Canada. Based in Washington DC, the think tank manages over 15 regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosperity.