The Council of European Municipalities was founded in Geneva in 1951 by a group of European mayors; later, it opened its ranks to the regions and became the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. Today, it is the largest organisation of local and regional government in Europe; its members are over 50 national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from 39 countries. Together these associations represent some 100,000 local and regional authorities. At the head of its political structure is its President, the mayor of Stuttgart, Wolfgang Schuster. It has a staff of about 20 headed by its secretary general Frédéric Vallier.

CEMR's budget is about €2 million, the main part of which comes from the membership fees of its national associations. The rest (about 10%) consists of an annual grant  from the EU Commission in the framework of the "Active European citizenship" programme.

CEMR’s activities
CEMR works to promote a united Europe that is based on local and regional self government and democracy. To achieve this goal it endeavours to shape the future of Europe by enhancing the local and regional contribution, to influence European law and policy, to exchange experience at local and regional level and to cooperate with partners in other parts of the world.

CEMR works in many fields of activity such as regional policy, transport, the environment, equal opportunities, governance... Its committees and working groups seek to influence draft EU legislation to make sure the interests and concerns of local and regional authorities are taken into account from the earliest stages of the EU legislative process. They contribute to CEMR's calendar of activities by organising seminars and conferences on a wide range of issues to promote the exchange and dissemination of experience at the local and regional level.