The CIK-FIA's first international competition upon its founding in 1962 was the European Nations' Cup, a team-based contest won by Great Britain against Belgium, France, Italy, and Germany. An individual European Championship was established in 1970 and first won by Belgian driver François Goldstein in the 100 cc class, who retained his title in 1971. In 1979, Cathy Muller became the first woman to win a European title, also in the 100 cc class.
The gearbox category has been part of the European Championship since 1974, when Dutch driver Aad van Daalen won the inaugural Formula C class. Gianfranco Baroni won four Formula C European Championships between 1976 and 1981, establishing a record of four primary gearbox titles that would later be matched but not surpassed.
The 135 cc Formula K class became the primary senior category from 1982. During this period, Michael Schumacher won the 1987 Intercontinental A (ICA) European Championship, becoming the first karting European Champion to go on to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, which he achieved in 1994. In 1989, Jos Verstappen became the first driver to win two European Championship titles in the same season with victories in both FS100 and ICA — a feat not repeated until his son Max accomplished the same in 2013.
Formula Super A (FSA) became the pre-eminent senior class from 1993 to 2000. The 2000 season was notable for the emergence of the rivalry between CRG teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who finished first and second respectively in the FA European Championship — a pairing that would later define Formula One for several seasons. Hamilton went on to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship seven times; Rosberg won it once.
Marco Ardigò won four consecutive primary senior European Championships from 2005 to 2008 with Tony Kart, remaining the only driver to achieve a four-peat in the event's history. Ardigò later added a fifth European title in KZ in 2016, making him the only driver to win five European Championships in total.
The 2007 season introduced KF1 and KZ1 as the primary senior and gearbox classes respectively, as the CIK-FIA sought to standardise international karting regulations. In 2009, the entire OK-Junior podium — Nyck de Vries, Carlos Sainz Jr., and Daniil Kvyat — subsequently progressed to Formula One, the only occasion in the European Championship's history where this occurred across an entire podium.
In 2013, Max Verstappen won both the KF and KZ European Championships with CRG, becoming the only driver to claim senior and gearbox titles in the same season. He also became the only driver to win the KZ European Championship and the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Lando Norris won the KF-Junior European Championship in 2013 and later became a Formula One World Drivers' Champion. In 2009, Nyck de Vries won the KF3 European Championship before also reaching Formula One.
From 2016, the CIK-FIA transitioned to Original Kart (OK) regulations for the senior direct-drive category, replacing the KF framework that had been in place since 2007. In 2017, Sami Taoufik, a Spanish-born Moroccan driver, became the first non-European champion in a primary class by winning the OK European Championship. In 2020 and 2021, Andrea Kimi Antonelli won back-to-back OK European Championships aged 14 and 15, becoming the youngest driver to win multiple primary senior European titles.
As of 2024, the European Championship is held across two primary direct-drive classes — OK and OK-Junior — and three gearbox classes: KZ, KZ2, and the KZ2-Masters sub-class, the latter restricted to drivers aged 35 and above and inaugurated in 2024 with Italian driver Riccardo Nalon as its first winner. The direct-drive category is contested across four separate three-day events; the gearbox category is run across two such events. Each round follows a progression from qualifying heats through super heats to a final, with points awarded at each stage.
The 250 cc Superkart category was contested at 18 consecutive European Championships from 2002 to 2019 before being discontinued; British and French drivers historically dominated the class, with Dave Buttigieg, Martin Hines, and Peter Elkmann each winning four Superkart European titles.
The FIA Karting European Championship has served as a major talent pipeline for international motorsport across all its categories. Italian drivers have historically dominated the KZ class, claiming 39 of the 52 gearbox championships as of 2024. The championship has also produced champions in other FIA World Championships, including Yvan Muller, Sébastien Buemi, Kévin Estre, and James Calado. Its season-long format and multi-round structure place it among the most competitive and closely scrutinised events in international karting each year.