The Council of European National Youth Committees was founded as a voluntary association of eleven National Committees of the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom) and the two National Youth Councils of France and Luxembourg. Italy and Switzerland participated at the founding meeting, but only decided later to participate in the CENYC. Membership of the CENYC is open to representative National Youth Committees in Europe which are democratic according to the sense of the European Convention of Human Rights, which represent all main democratic tendencies active on the national level, which are open to all democratic youth organisations and which support measures and activities for the intensification of European youth work. For each country only one National Council can be admitted. CENYC confers observer status and invitations.
CENYC finances itself through affiliation fees from members, contributions from members and European institutions.;The principal tasks of CENYC are to serve as a forum for the exchange of information, to collect and study material concerning youth problems, to co-operate and obtain assistance from organisations and institutions active in the field of youth work and education and to support national youth committees in activities aiming at European unification. Every year several conferences and seminars are held aimed at tackling specific policy issues and to train youth leaders in international youth work. Special emphasis is given to enabling participants to share their international experience and allow them to disseminate such ideas in their own national situations. The organisation aims to promote democratic participation by young people within youth organisations and assist them to develop a European consciousness based on 'mutual respect and understanding through the creation of the awareness of the different traditions of the common European cultures'.
CENYC has also a role as a link with other regions of the world such as Africa, Asia and Latin-America. It plays an important role in developing East-west and Pan-European youth co-operation and it acts as a representative body on behalf of its members to the European institutions, governmental and non-governmental, and to other international bodies. Since the creation of the Council of Europe's European Youth Center and the European Youth Foundation CENYC has become member of its Advisory Board. In 1975 it was conferred the Advisory status with UNESCO. It collaborates closely with the 'European Co-ordination Bureau of International Youth Organisations' (ECB).
In 1996 the CENYC amalgamated with the 'Youth Forum of the European Communities' (YFEU) and the 'European Co-ordination Bureau of International Youth Organisations' (ECB) forming the 'European Youth Forum' which held its first Extraordinary General Assembly in July in Cork (Ireland).