In 2011 EMA’s biennial General Assembly (GA) in Mestre, Italy, accepted the memberhips of Poland and United Kingdom, bringing the current membership to 16 countries.

EMA was founded in 2005 during the first Open European Mahjong Championship (OEMC) in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The 'founding members' were: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands.

In 2008 Finland, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden applied for the EMA membership, followed in 2009 by Belgium and Portugal. All organizations were admitted during the GA of 2009 in Baden, Austria.

The EMA is registered at The Central Business Register in Denmark (CVR: det centrale virksomhedsregister) at The Danish Commerce and Companies Agency (Erhvervs- og Selskabsstyrelsen).

The statutes can be viewed here.

During a GA they can be (and were) adapted according to the decisions taken. A summary of the main articles can be found hereafter.

The purpose of the association is to encourage, disseminate and coordinate the playing of mahjong in Europe. The association is a non-profit organization with no political or religious purpose.