The Study Committee for Franco-German Relations was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France.

Considered to be a politico-scientific meeting centre, it is now one of the oldest organisations common to both countries.

The Committee benefits from equal support from the French Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes and the German Foreign Office, the Auswärtiges Amt, and its Governing Council counts an equal number of French and German members.

Cerfa's mission is to analyze the central conditions and current state of Franco-German relations in the political, economical and international fields. Cerfa aims to raise important, specific questions and issues arising from Franco-German Relations on the gouvernmental scale; to formulate propositions and practical suggestions to deepen and harmonize the relations between the two countries; and to devise workable solutions to existing problems.
To these ends, Cerfa organizes regular meetings and Franco- German seminars that gather high-ranking officials, experts and journalists, while also conducting research on topics of common interest. In addition to focusing on bilateral relations and Franco-German issues, Cerfa is also interested in the broader European questions discussed during trilateral meetings.

Hans Stark has been Cerfa's Director since 1991. Louis-Marie Clouet has been a Research Fellow and Nele Wissmann is a fellow assistant and charged with the "Franco-German network for young elites".

Cerfa offers interns the opportunity to gain practical experience regarding Franco-German issues.