The series was established in 1991 as the "Rencontres Internationales de Formule Renault" before adopting the "Eurocup Formula Renault" name in 1993. In 2000 it was renamed Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup, and from 2005 onward it ran under the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 banner, except for 2003 when it was briefly known as the Formula Renault 2000 Masters.
From 2005 to 2015, the championship served as a support series to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault package. During this era, Renault Sport offered a prize of €500,000 to the Eurocup champion, with the expectation that the winner would use the money to step up to Formula Renault 3.5.
The series held exclusively European rounds, typically visiting circuits already on the Formula Renault 3.5 or Formula One calendar, giving young drivers exposure to the same venues as elite-level motorsport.
All cars competed in identical specification, with the chassis built at Alpine's Dieppe plant and aerodynamic bodywork designed by Tatuus. Key specifications included a Renault F4R 832 four-cylinder, 1998cc engine producing 210 bhp at 7,500rpm and 220Nm of torque at 5,500rpm, paired with a SADEV seven-speed sequential semi-automatic gearbox operated by steering-wheel-mounted paddles. Suspension was provided by ZF Race Engineering at both ends — single damper at the front, double damper at the rear — and tyres were supplied by Michelin. The cars weighed 506 kg unloaded and measured 4270mm in length.
The Eurocup served as a primary stepping stone between national Formula 4-level championships and the more powerful Formula Renault 3.5 or GP2/Formula 2 series. Many of its graduates went on to Formula One careers.
Notable champions and their subsequent trajectories include Valtteri Bottas (2008 champion, moved to Formula 3 Euro Series before reaching Formula One with Williams and Mercedes), Robin Frijns (2011 champion, also won FR 3.5 — the first driver to win both consecutively), Stoffel Vandoorne (2012 champion, reached Formula One with McLaren), Nyck de Vries (2014 champion, eventually raced in Formula One with Williams and AlphaTauri), and Pierre Gasly and Oliver Rowland, who contested the 2013 title to the final round before both graduating to Formula Renault 3.5.
Brendon Hartley won the 2007 title and initially moved to British Formula Three rather than FR 3.5, before his career eventually led him to sports car racing and a Formula One seat with Toro Rosso. Filipe Albuquerque was among the first Eurocup graduates to take a full-time FR 3.5 seat after his 2006 Eurocup title.
Following the discontinuation of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series after 2015, the Eurocup lost its role as a direct support series. It continued independently until after the 2020 season, when, partly as a consequence of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it merged with the Formula Regional European Championship. The merged series adopted updated Formula 3 machinery from Tatuus, bringing the Eurocup's distinct Formula 2.0 platform to a close after nearly thirty years of operation.