The Academy is based in Yuste, Spain because that is where emperor Charles the Vth spent his last years after having brought a major part of Europe under his rule (he died there in 1558).
The European Academy of Yuste consists of symbolic chairs, each of which bears the name of an already dead but all-time outstanding European (Socrates, Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Cervantes…). These chairs are held on a honorary basis.
The Academy was founded in 1992 by the regional government of Extremadura (where Yuste is located). The Academicians will be designated by the Board of Trustees of the European Academy of Yuste Foundation. The countries that once were part of the Habsburg empire are represented in the Board of Trustees: France, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal. At present the director of the Foundation of the European Academy of Yuste is Antonio Ventura Díaz Díaz. The rector and the secretary of the Academy are Abram de Swaan and Gustaaf Janssens. For a complete list look here.