The series began in 1991 under the name Rencontres Internationales de Formule Renault before adopting the Eurocup Formula Renault branding in 1993. In 2000 it was renamed Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup — with the exception of a 2003 edition called the Formula Renault 2000 Masters — before settling on the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 title from 2005 onward.
Between 2005 and 2015 Renault Sport offered a prize of €500,000 to the Eurocup champion, underwriting direct graduation to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. This prize pathway produced a steady flow of talent into the senior category: the 2006 champion Filipe Albuquerque was the first to make the step on a full-time basis, joined by contenders Bertrand Baguette and Xavier Maassen for the 2007 FR 3.5 season. The 2011 champion Robin Frijns became the only driver to win both the Eurocup and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in consecutive years. Other champions who progressed through the ladder include Albert Costa (2009), Kevin Korjus (2010), Stoffel Vandoorne (2012), Nyck de Vries (2014) and numerous runners-up such as Pierre Gasly and Oliver Rowland — who contested the 2013 title to the final round — as well as Carlos Sainz Jr., Max Verstappen and Jack Aitken, all of whom used the Eurocup as a stepping stone toward Formula One careers.
Not every champion followed the prescribed graduation path: the 2007 title holder Brendon Hartley moved to the British Formula Three Championship instead of FR 3.5, and Valtteri Bottas, champion in 2008, chose the Formula 3 Euro Series as his next step.
The Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 car, designated FR2.0/13, featured a carbon-fibre body built at Alpine's Dieppe plant — a Renault subsidiary — with aerodynamic components designed by Tatuus. All cars raced to identical specifications to ensure a level playing field. Power came from a Renault F4R 832 four-cylinder, 16-valve, 1998cc engine producing 210 bhp at 7,500 rpm and 220 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. Drive went through a SADEV seven-speed sequential gearbox with semi-automatic, steering-wheel-mounted XAP electric control. Suspension on both axles was provided by ZF Race Engineering units — a single damper at the front and a double damper at the rear, both two-way adjustable. Michelin supplied the control tyres. The car measured 4,270 mm in length, 1,740 mm in width and 950 mm in height, with a minimum weight of 506 kg without driver or fuel.
Following the 2020 season, the Eurocup was merged with the Formula Regional European Championship, a consolidation partly accelerated by the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The merged series absorbed the Eurocup's role as Renault's primary European junior platform, ending nearly three decades of Eurocup racing and a lineage that helped identify and develop dozens of eventual Formula One drivers.