EUMENESS is a multilateral network of centres - or nodes - in different parts of Europe and the Mediterranean. It is designed on a new model of co-operation, not as a single institution, but as a network of academically like-minded, legally independent and self-financing centres. The Institute will act as a clearing house for all the centres and organise conferences, promote research and facilitate communication among EUMENESS members. It is a platform for the interaction of agencies and academies from European and Mediterranean countries as well as an instrument for policy implementation by ensuring that its findings reach appropriate policy-makers.

The network maintains strong links with UNESCO which donated US$50,000 to its establishment when UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor inaugurated it in Malta in early 1996. The international outlook of the network is reflected in its board of directors which is composed of scholars from Italy and Malta, which share both European and Mediterranean outlooks, and the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and the Russian Federation.