The Ministerial Council, formerly Council of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), meets once a year towards the end of every term of chairmanship to consider issues relevant to the OSCE and take appropriate decisions.

The first meeting of CSCE Ministers of Foreign Affairs took place in Helsinki on 3-7 July 1973. At that meeting, the Ministers endorsed the Final Recommendations, which suggested that the CSCE should take place in three stages. Two years later, in August 1975, the third stage of the Helsinki process culminated in the first CSCE Summit of Heads of State and Government, which adopted the Helsinki Final Act.

Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs

The Ministerial Council itself was established by the Charter of Paris for a New Europe (1990) under the original name of "Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs". The 1992 Helsinki Document reaffirmed its role as the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE and gave it more extensive powers in the field of conflict prevention and crisis management. The 1994 Budapest Document renamed it "Ministerial Council" and fully confirmed its pivotal political role.

During periods between summits, decision-making and governing power lies with the Ministerial Council, whose members are the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE participating States.

The Ministerial Council meetings help to maintain a link between the political decisions taken at the summits and the day-to-day functioning of the Organization, thus providing a point of reference for its other institutions.

21st OSCE Ministerial Council, Basel
4-5 December 2014

20th OSCE Ministerial Council, Kyiv
5-6 December 2013

19th Ministerial Council, Dublin
6-7 December 2012

18th Ministerial Council, Vilnius
6-7 December 2011

17th Ministerial Council, Athens
1-2 December 2009

16th Ministerial Council, Helsinki
4-5 December 2008

15th Ministerial Council, Madrid
29-30 November 2007

14th Ministerial Council, Brussels
4-5 December 2006

13th Ministerial Council, Ljubljana
5-6 December 2005

12th Ministerial Council, Sofia
6-7 December 2004

11th Ministerial Council, Maastricht
1-2 December 2003

10th Ministerial Council, Porto
6-7 December 2002

9th Ministerial Council, Bucharest
3-4 December 2001

8th Ministerial Council, Vienna
27-28 November 2000

7th Ministerial Council, Oslo
2-3 December 1998

6th Ministerial Council, Copenhagen
18-19 December 1997

5th Ministerial Council, Budapest
7-8 December 1995

4th Ministerial Council, Rome
30 November - 1 December 1993

3rd Ministerial Council, Stockholm
14-15 December 1992

2nd Ministerial Council, Prague
30-31 January 1992

Additional Ministerial Meeting, Moscow
10 September 1991

1st Ministerial Council, Berlin
19-20 June 1991

Helsinki Consultations
3-7 July 1973