The formation of the EERA has taken place over the last twenty years and it has accumulated practices and organizational procedures. The core principles of the Association were about inclusivity, represented through membership of national associations in the Council, and European identity, safeguarded by ECER regulations and the EERJ. The founding question of the Association, and a constant and useful heuristic device was "what does it mean to be a European educational research association?" and a related question, "who are its members?" The paper suggests that these questions should be used to review the work of the EERA again as they are in danger of becoming lost.