To assist the region’s Member Governments in cooperating on agricultural problems – including research, education, extension, nutrition, and agricultural economy issues not under the purview of the Committee on Commodity Problems – to encourage and facilitate cooperation between international governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with agriculture, and to make recommendations on all matters within its geographical and technical competence.

The European Commission on Agriculture (ECA) holds its regular sessions every two years, between sessions of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe. Between the sessions of the Commission, the Executive Committee of the Commission acts as an executive body. The Executive Committee submits proposals to the ECA concerning the general orientation of the Commission’s activities and the programme of work.

Membership in the European Commission on Agriculture is open to all Members in the FAO Europe and Central Asia Region. The Sixth Session (1954) recommended that Member Governments should designate representatives to the Commission who could serve in a continuing capacity.

Established by the Director-General in 1949 on the recommendation of a preparatory meeting of representatives of European Member Nations (Paris, 1949) as the "European Committee on Agricultural Technology", it was formally recognized as an Article VI-1 Body and its functions defined by the FAO Conference at its Sixth Session (1951, Resolution 87). The title was changed to "European Committee on Agriculture" by decision of the Council at its Fifteenth Session (1952) and in 1956 changed again to the present title. The Commission's terms of reference were broadened by the Conference at its Ninth Session (1957, Resolution 26/57).

The 31st Session of the ECA  in Rome in 1999 suggested revising the organization of the sessions and following the request of the 22nd FAO Regional Conference for Europe in 2000, the 119th Session of the Council approved the Commission’s revised mandate, such that the ECA session serves as a technical preparatory meeting for the Regional Conference for Europe. Deliberations of the ECA are reported directly to the Regional Conference (see CL 119/PV). 

In 2014, the 38th session of the ECA and the 29th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe decided to hold the ECA session at least six months prior to the Regional Conference, and to hold it at the location of the seat of FAO’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.