Following their decision to make the
World Table Tennis Championships a biennial event from 1957 onwards, the
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) invited the separate European table tennis associations to consider holding a European Championships in the intervening, even-numbered years. At a meeting on 13 March 1957 in
Stockholm during that year's World Championships, the
European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) was created by the associations of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Finland, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the USSR, Wales, West Germany and Yugoslavia. A board of seven was elected, including Frenchman Jean Belot as the first chairman, and the first
European Championships took place in
Budapest in 1958. At a meeting in 1960, the ETTU decided to introduce a competition for European club teams, and the first
European Club Cup of Champions for men took place in early 1961, with a women's event added three years later. In 1964, the ETTU assumed responsibility for youth competitions in Europe, and in 1970 the main competition for youth players was renamed the
European Youth Championships. An experimental classification tournament was held in 1971, featuring the top twelve-ranked European players in a
round robin-style competition. This event would go on to be held annually as the
Europe Top-12. In 1984,
Nancy Evans retired from her role as Honorary General Secretary, having held that role for 27 years since the formation of the ETTU. In recognition of her outstanding service, she was appointed as the ETTU's first Honorary Life Member. Between 1991 and 1995, the number of ETTU member associations increased dramatically from 37 to 52, largely due to applications from table tennis associations of nations that were formerly part of the
USSR or
Yugoslavia, in addition to the dissolution of
Czechoslovakia. In 1998, the
European Champions League was created for men's club teams (a women's Champions League followed in 2005), and in 1999, the ETTU entered into their first TV contract with ITTF/TMS, which enabled Champions League matches to be broadcast live on
Eurosport. In 2000, a decision was taken to switch the
European Championships to odd-numbered years from 2003 onwards. This was in response to the
ITTF's decision to start holding
World Championships every year, alternating between individual events in odd-numbered years and team events in even-numbered years. From 2007, the European Championships became an annual event, and from 2016, the Championships will feature singles and doubles events in even-numbered years, with team events in odd-numbered years. Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ETTU Executive Board banned Russian and Belarusian players and officials from ETTU events, in accord with the recommendations of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), and in March 2022 its Russian president
Igor Levitin self-suspended himself. Following Igor Levitin's self-suspension, Deputy President Pedro Moura assumed the role of Acting President. At the ETTU Congress held in Linz, Austria, in October 2024, Moura was elected as president. ==Member Associations==