[2] After the fall of communism, the college opened an additional campus in Natolin, Poland, that was gifted to the institution by the Polish government in 1992.

Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was appointed as the Rector to start in September 2020;[4] former President of the European Council Herman, Count Van Rompuy is chairman of the board.

[5] The College of Europe was the most represented alma mater (university attended) among senior EU civil servants, based on a sample compiled by Politico in 2021.

[1] At the Congress, the Spanish statesman Salvador de Madariaga strongly advocated for the creation of a College of Europe, where graduates from different European states could study together as a way to heal the wounds of the World War II.

[10] John Bowie, Professor of Modern History at Oxford University, was appointed Director of the first session held by the college, in 1949.

Bruges is located in the Flemish Region of Belgium, a Dutch-speaking area, although the college does not use Dutch as one of its working languages.

The college has a system of residences in the centre of Bruges and not far from the Dijver, where the main administrative and academic building and the library are situated.

A white classic façade stands at the front of the main building (where the European, Belgian, Flemish and Brugeois flags hang together), while there is a garden in its back side.

The garden is used by the students, who frequently spare their break time there due to its proximity to the library (which is connected to the main building by a corridor).

Following the increase in the number of students attending the College each year, the College of Europe (with the support of different entities and institutions, including the Flemish Government and the City of Bruges[22]) reformed the 17th century protected monument[23] of Verversdijk to provide additional lecture theatres (auditoria), teaching rooms and offices for academics, research fellows and staff; and to extend its activities.

Besides its academic and administrative use throughout the course, a cocktail is served in its garden to each promotion, following their graduation ceremony at St. Walburga Church (Bruges).

The historical site of Verversdijk owes its name to fact that the owners of the houses standing there at medieval times were dyers who used wool traded with Scotland, as the area was populated by several Englishmen during the Middle Ages.

The attic of the building, with a total length of 45 meters and a surprisingly well-preserved oak canopy, is currently used as a study room.

A room dedicated to Winston Churchill (who was among the voices calling for the establishment of the College during The Hague Congress in 1948 and was one of its founders the year after) was inaugurated by his grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames, and the British ambassador in 2017.

The actual residence is located on the lot occupied by the Mareminne house,[34] which hosted the consulate of Biscay in the past, although the original building was demolished.

[35] The Natolin Warsaw campus of the college was established in 1992 responding to the revolutions of 1989 and ahead of Poland's accession negotiations with the EU.

The Natolin European Centre Foundation takes care of the complex and has conducted restoration of the former Potocki palace, making it available for the college.

The opening ceremony each year is presided over by a prominent politician, referred to as the Orateur; they have included Angela Merkel, David Miliband, Jean-Claude Juncker, Javier Solana, José Manuel Barroso, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Juan Carlos I of Spain, Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand.

[47] Many former students of the college, referred to as anciens (French for alumni), have gone on to serve as government ministers, members of various parliaments, diplomats and high-ranking civil servants and executives.

Fifty Years of Service to Europe (1999), edited by Dieter Mahncke, Léonce Bekemans and Robert Picht.

[71] On 20 February, Marietje Schaake of the ALDE group presented a written question to the European Commission on this issue.

[74] A group of College alumni collected signatures to demand the institution to stop organising private meetings between MEPs and the Saudi government.

[75] In a letter to the President of the European Parliament's Budget Control Committee Ingeborg Gräßle, Jörg Monar, Rector of the College of Europe, confirmed the organization of trainings for Saudi officials and criticized the media for reporting them as lobbying.

[78] The French language weekly news magazine Le Vif/L'Express published an article on 21 February 2019 based on the testimony of former students from recent years.

[80] In October 2022, EU's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell made controversial comments in a speech to the College of Europe's new European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges.

[81] Federica Mogherini, the rector of the College of Europe was hosting Josep Borrell, who succeeded her in the function of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU[82] did not express any disagreement.

[83] In 2024, Politico Europe published an article detailing longstanding accusations of sexual harassment by an unnamed professor at the university.

[84] The publication of that article led to the dismissal of the professor Olivier Costa, whose identity was revealed further by Politico after the end of the disciplinary procedure.