The EUA represents and supports Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in  47  countries,  providing  them  with  a  forum  to  cooperate  and  update them trends in higher education and research policies. It is the result of a merger between the Association of European Universities (CRE) and the Confederation of European Union Rectors' Conferences, which took place in Salamanca, Spain on 31 March 2001.
EUA  plays  an  essential  role  in  shaping  tomorrow’s  European  higher education and research landscape thanks to its unique knowledge of the sector and the diversity of its members. The Association’s mandate in the Bologna process, contribution to EU research policy-making and relations with    intergovernmental    organisations,    European    institutions    and international associations, ensure its capacity to debate  issues  which are crucial  for  universities  in  relation  to  higher  education,  research  and innovation. (Source: ERA Fabric Map, VERA Project)