The European Documentation Centre promotes teaching and research in the field of European integration; provides and facilitates public access, including for non-university audiences, to EU documentation and information; and cooperates with other EDCs and European information networks.

The Urbino Centre was established through an agreement between the European Commission and the University of Urbino Carlo Bo in 1997. In 2005, an agreement was signed (updated in 2018) that governs its operation and specifies the rights and duties of the parties. It is located within the Biblioteca di Economia e Sociologia, Palazzo Battiferri, Via Aurelio Saffi 42 - 61029 Urbino (PU), and is part of a network that includes over 600 centres worldwide, of which 400 are in EU member states and 51 in Italy, mostly located at universities, research centres, and national libraries.