The EU Delegation was set up in 1964 as a Delegation of the European Commission. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 it has become a Delegation of the EU and part of the European External Action Service.

The Delegation represents the European Union and its 27 Member States at the OECD, UNESCO and the IEA and is based in Paris. These three, very different organisations deal with a wide array of economic, social, environmental but also cultural, education and energy matters which are of major relevance to the EU. In all three areas, the EU has developed over the years a number of important instruments and policies. The EU draws data, evidence-based analysis and experience-sharing from the multilateral work done across the three organisations and contributes by sharing the vast EU perspective, know-how and experience accumulated in the 60 years of its existence. 

More concretely, the Delegation actively participates in and contributes to the discussions of the OECD, UNESCO and IEA bodies and committees. It coordinates the EU Member States' position on issues of exclusive EU competence and in areas where the EU needs to speak with one voice to effectively promote its interests and values. Moreover, the Delegation serves as a bridge between these Paris-based international organisations and the EU institutions in Brussels and facilitates their efficient cooperation. Finally, the Delegation promotes the visibility and understanding of the values and policies of the EU as well as building of closer relations with both Member countries' diplomats and the international organisations' staff in Paris. 

In more practical terms, it is the EU Ambassador's daily mission, together with his team of EU diplomats, to help steer and shape the three organisations' work programme and advance the EU interests and priorities in the work of their various specialised committees and other bodies.