The IIHF European Junior Championships were an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation and held from 1968 to 1998, with an unofficial tournament being held in 1967.
In 1977, the IIHF created the IIHF World Junior Championships, and the U19 championships became U18.
The tournament was dominated by the Russians (and Soviets), Czechs (and Czechoslovaks), Swedes and Finns, winning all but two of the medals in the 31 years it was held.
Two European Divisions continued until 2000, but were tiered qualifiers, alongside Asian Divisions, with promotion and relegation to the World Group B.
Over the history of the tournament there were 31 'A', 30 'B', 21 'C', and 4 'D' championshipsIn 1976 Group 'A' grew from six members to eight.