The CEES was established by a Prime Ministerial decree on 17 March 1995 and was set up in Strasbourg, in the Commanderie Saint-Jean building, also housing the headquarters of the Ecole nationale d’administration.
The Centre is responsible for training and studies in the relevant fields of competence :
- the European Union,
- the Council of Europe,
- the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
and all issues relating to cooperation and the development of relations between European states.
Within this framework the Centre :
- provides training in its areas of competence, either as part of initial training programmes organised by some establishments or more generally as part of continuous training activities;
- promotes studies and discussion on European matters, especially by organising conferences, symposiums and debates, by publishing articles in an on-line magazine, and by running a long course on European studies;
- manages European administrative cooperation projects in the framework of Community programmes aimed at enhancing exchanges of civil servants in specific areas of public activity and encouraging a comparison of working methods and the spreading of "efficient administrative practices";
- prepares for the open competitions organised by European institutions.
