Introduced in 1999, it was operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), the Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), and the French National Railway Corporation (SNCF).

The train was named after Jean Monnet (1888–1979), a French political economist and diplomat.

The route of the Jean Monnet was as follows: It was particularly appropriate that a train running from Brussels to Strasbourg via Luxembourg be named Jean Monnet, because those three cities are the venues of the main EU institutions.

[1] Made up initially of only three coaches, the new train was not a great success until 2004, when it was extended to Basel.

These issues meant that the Jean Monnet lacked not only the glamour of the earlier Trans Europ Expresses, but also the more modest charms of a EuroCity meeting all of the usual criteria.