The project commenced at the CPCE General Assembly in 2012. There are several requirements for a city to be considered for the title. First off, the city should be a significant figure in the 16th century Reformation; this includes having historical testimonies from that period. Secondly, it should have a distinct European feel to it and be easily accessible for tourism. Based on these criteria, an international advisory body, including representatives from church and government as well as the tourism and marketing fields, selected the winning cities.

The Ecumenical Office of the Reformed Church in Hungary took the initiative and invited a German journalist, Thomas Greif to present Debrecen's historical relevance and lead communication projects for the CPCE program. He has since published three reports about Hungary for the Sonntagsblatt Journal.

• "Calvinist Rome" exploring past and present Debrecen and the "impulse" of reformation still visible today.
• "Our National Treasure" about Vizsoly as the birthplace of the first Hungarian translation of the Bible.
• "Honey Moves Hills" focusing on Göncruszka and a report on the "creativity of congregation" concerning their fight against poverty and hopelessness.

The CPCE Assembly's final motto was used as a jumping-off point for the Europa reformata program: "The Gospel gives breath, dismisses fear, gives new life, sets free, opens our eyes to realize others' needs and conjures abject ghosts. Wherever we experience this, the impulse of reformation reaches us. If churches let them to lead by the Gospel, we really respect reformation."