Notaries are public office holders and part of the legal order in the 22 EU Member States based on Latin civil law. Their essential mission is to confer authenticity on the legal instruments and contracts they establish for their clients in areas of law as diverse as marriage contracts, company statutes, wills, real estate transactions, etc.

The Notaries of Europe are firmly committed to the construction of a legal Europe. The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) is the official body representing the notarial profession in dealings with the European institutions. Speaking for the profession, it negotiates and makes decisions for the European Union's notariats.

The CNUE represents the notariats of all EU Member States familiar with this institution: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. 

The European notariats are represented in the CNUE by the presidents of the national notarial bodies. The CNUE is supervised by a President, the CNUE's spokesperson, who has tenure for one year, renewable for one year.

The CNUE was set up in 1993 when the Single Market became a reality. It has a permanent office situated in Brussels, at the heart of Europe. Since 2003, the CNUE has taken the form of an ASBL (Association sans but lucratif - non-profit organisation) under Belgian law. Originally called the 'Conference of the Notariats of the EU', the CNUE became the 'Council of the Notariats of the EU' on 1 January 2006.

The CNUE's mission is to promote the notariat and its active contribution to any decision-making processes of the European institutions. This includes areas such as the legal aspects of citizenship and running a business, access to justice and consumer protection.