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Antonios Nestoras

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Antonios Nestoras
Born1983 (age 42–43)
EducationLeiden University
Alma materVrije Universiteit Brussel, University of Antwerp
OccupationsAcademic, policy analyst
Known forAnalytical geopolitics

Antonios Nestoras (born 1983) is a Greek academic and policy analyst specialising in European geopolitics, industrial strategy, and European integration. He is the founder and director of the European Policy Innovation Council (EPIC), a Brussels-based think tank focused on European policy and competitiveness.[1] He previously served as Deputy Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum (ELF) and has taught geopolitics at the Brussels School of Governance at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.[2][3]

Academic career

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Antonios Nestoras completed his undergraduate studies in Greece before pursuing graduate education in the Netherlands, where he was awarded the Huygens Scholarship for International Talent at Leiden University.[4] He later earned a double doctoral degree in Social and Political Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the University of Antwerp (UA). His doctoral thesis, "Belonging to the West? Geopolitical Mythmaking in Modern Greece from the Enlightenment to the Euro-crisis," introduced the concept of Analytical Geopolitics, which examines how geopolitical narratives and political myths influence the strategic orientation of states.[4]

Nestoras is an adjunct professor at the Brussels School of Governance at VUB, where he teaches geopolitics and technopolitics.[5] His research focuses on international relations, European integration, and political myth,[6] and his work has appeared in academic journals and policy publications.[7][8]

Policy and think-tank career

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Nestoras served as Deputy Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum (ELF), where he worked on research programmes and policy initiatives.[9] He has also served as editor-in-chief of the Future Europe Journal and has been involved in the Liberal Reads podcast.[10] Nestoras has contributed to discussions on EU geopolitical challenges, including EU enlargement and relations with the Western Balkans.[11][12]

In 2024, he co-founded the European Policy Innovation Council (EPIC), a Brussels-based think tank focused on European policy and competitiveness.[13]

Policy initiatives

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In 2025, under his leadership, the European Policy Innovation Council (EPIC) launched the Draghi Observatory & Implementation Index, a project tracking the implementation of recommendations in Mario Draghi’s 2024 Report on the Future of European Competitiveness.[14] The Observatory reported that only a small share of the report’s recommendations had been implemented, highlighting challenges in areas such as digitalisation, energy and clean technologies.[15][16]

Political activity

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In 2024, Nestoras was a candidate in the European Parliament elections, representing the Democrats (DIMOKRATES) party.[17] His campaign addressed issues including European security and defence, strategic autonomy and technological competitiveness within the European Union.[18][19][20][21]

Media commentary

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Nestoras has appeared in media coverage on European geopolitics, technological competition, and economic policy. His work has been cited in outlets including the Financial Times, Reuters and The Guardian in coverage of European economic competitiveness and industrial policy.[22][23][24] He has also appeared in outlets such as Euronews, La Stampa and L’Express.[25][26][27]

Selected works

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  • Renewing Europe: A How-To Guide for EU Policymakers (European Liberal Forum, 2024) [28]
  • Belonging to the West: Geopolitical Myths and Identity in Modern Greece (Brill Nijhoff, 2023) [29]
  • Analysing Geopolitical Myths: Towards a Method for Analytic Geopolitics. 2022. In Criekemans, D. (ed). Geopolitics and International Relations: Grounding World Politics Anew. Leiden:  Brill [30]
  • Place-identity and Renewed Materialism in Geopolitics: Towards an Analytical Approach? 2021. SN Social Sciences, 1(5):119 [31]
  • Chapter "The View from Europe’s Borders: Greece and the CSDP as a Security Provider" in the book The Common Security and Defence Policy: National Perspectives (2015), edited by Daniel Fiott and others. The book explores various national perspectives on the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).[32]

References

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  1. ↑ "Antonios Nestoras". Visegrad Insight. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  2. ↑ "EU Bubble Insider with Antonios Nestoras". www.euinsider.eu. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  3. ↑ "ELF welcomes new Executive Director". ALDE Party. Archived from the original on 2024-11-28. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  4. 1 2 Pijpen, Ilya (2020-02-21). "Antonios Nestoras defends his doctoral thesis on Greece's Belonging to the West". CSDS. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  5. ↑ "MA course descriptions | BSoG". www.brussels-school.be. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  6. ↑ "Dr. Antonios Nestoras". Liberal International. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  7. ↑ "Antonios Nestoras". Green European Journal. Archived from the original on 2024-05-29. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  8. ↑ "Antonios Nestoras". scholar.google.be. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  9. ↑ "Antonios Nestoras". Martens Centre. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  10. ↑ "Editorial Board - Future Europe Journal". feu-journal.eu. 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  11. ↑ rharberger (2022-04-13). "Dr. Antonios Nestoras". LibertyCon Europe. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  12. ↑ "Директор ЕЛФ Антониос Несторас: ЕУ неће бити комплетна без Србије и осталих земаља Западног Балкана. Верујем да су Срби Европљани. Процес проширења не функционише како су се сви надали". Нова српска политичка мисао (in Serbian). Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  13. ↑ "European Policy Innovation Council". www.thinkepic.eu. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  14. ↑ "Draghi had a plan to save Europe's economy. We've rated it, a year in". POLITICO. 2025-09-08. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  15. ↑ "One Year After the Draghi Report: Europe Delivers Only 1 in 10 Promises". www.euinsider.eu. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  16. ↑ Cantarini, Simone (2025-09-04). "Nestoras (EPIC) slams EU delays on the Draghi agenda: "We keep churning out bureaucratic cages"". Euractiv Italy. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  17. ↑ "Λοβέρδος: Οι πρώτοι 14 υποψήφιοι ευρωβουλευτές των «Δημοκρατών» | Ημερησία". www.imerisia.gr (in Greek). 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  18. ↑ "ΕΛΙΑΜΕΠ | Ανοιχτή εκδήλωση: Άμυνα και Ασφάλεια της Ε.Ε. σε ένα ασταθές γεωπολιτικό περιβάλλον" (in Greek). Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  19. ↑ "Τι κάνει τέλος πάντων η Ευρώπη για εμάς; Ο Αντώνης Νέστορας, υποψήφιος ευρωβουλευτής, απαντά". HuffPost Greece (in Greek). 2024-06-02. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  20. ↑ Κουνέλη, Δήμητρα (2024-05-28). "Η Πράσινη Συμφωνία της ΕΕ και η Ανάγκη για Κοινωνική Δικαιοσύνη". topontiki.gr. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  21. ↑ "Ευρωπαϊκές Εκλογές 2024: Η κρισιμότητα της Άμυνας και της Ασφάλειας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης σε ένα ρευστό γεωπολιτικό περιβάλλον". www.amna.gr. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  22. ↑ "EU failing to implement economic fixes as single market withers". Financial Times. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  23. ↑ Payne, Julia; Blenkinsop, Philip; Melander, Ingrid (2026-02-12). "EU leaders vow to accelerate single market, in struggle to compete with US and China". Reuters. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  24. ↑ Rankin, Jennifer (2026-02-09). "EU urged not to roll back green agenda in effort to revive faltering economy". The Guardian. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  25. ↑ "Ο νέος ψηφιακός ψυχρός πόλεμος: η αθέατη σύγκρουση Δύσης–Ανατολής στα ευρωπαϊκά δίκτυα". Euronews. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  26. ↑ "Il piano Draghi dimenticato: realizzato il 10%". La Stampa. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  27. ↑ "Tambouilles politiques: comment la machine bruxelloise a eu le scalp du rapport Draghi". L’Express. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  28. ↑ Nestoras, Antonios (2024). Renewing Europe. A How-to-Guide for EU Policy Makers (PDF). European Liberal Forum. ISBN 978-2-39067-070-4.
  29. ↑ Nestoras, Antonios (2019-12-05). "Belonging to the West: Geopolitical Myths and Identity in Modern Greece" (PDF). repository.uantwerpen.be. Brussels. ISBN 978-90-04-68690-8. Retrieved 2026-04-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  30. ↑ Nestoras, Antonios (2021-12-02), "Analysing Geopolitical Myths: Towards a Method for Analytic Geopolitics", Geopolitics and International Relations, Brill Nijhoff, pp. 194–218, ISBN 978-90-04-43208-6, retrieved 2025-07-14
  31. ↑ Nestoras, Antonios (2021-04-26). "Place-identity and renewed materialism in geopolitics: towards an analytical approach?". SN Social Sciences. 1 (5): 119. doi:10.1007/s43545-021-00120-x. ISSN 2662-9283.
  32. ↑ Nestoras, Antonios (2015). "The view from Europe's borders: Greece and the CSDP as a security provider". The Common Security and Defence Policy: National Perspectives: 61–84.
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