COBCOE was founded in 1973, largely at the instigation of Sir Dick Pantlin CBE, then President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Some of its constituent 26 chambers were founded in the 19th century, and the decision to adopt a formal constitution resulted from a common wish to give more weight to a series of informal annual meetings that had previously taken place.

The original aims were to create official links with the British government on behalf of all British chambers of commerce in Continental Europe, and to ensure that by speaking with one voice on matters of common interest, this voice would be heard more clearly and with more effect than through individual chambers making separate representations.

A clear indication of the important role played by COBCOE in this respect is the Memorandum of Understanding signed by COBCOE with UKTI in 2003, which sets out the terms for cooperation between UKTI, British embassies and COBCOE member chambers.

The chambers of commerce retain complete autonomy and individuality but undertake certain joint initiatives through COBCOE as an "umbrella" organisation. This is a useful and practical feature as conditions in the 28 countries vary considerably. Each chamber employs its own bilingual staff, and works to promote trade between its country and the United Kingdom.
Since 2005, COBCOE has also employed an executive in London in order to enhance its services to member chambers and their members.