Ministerial Council

The OSCE Ministerial Council is composed of the foreign ministers of the Organization’s 57 participating States and is its central decision-making and governing body. 

All OSCE bodies and institutions, with the exception of the Summit, are responsible to the Ministerial Council, which in turn has the authority to determine and direct their work. The Ministerial Council is a negotiating body but often approves documents that have been adopted by the Permanent Council or the Forum for Security Co-operation.