As set out in the OECD Governance Resolution, Council is the highest body of the OECD. It has been entrusted by the Convention on the OECD to be the body from which all acts of the Organisation derive.

Council, at the level of Ministers as well as Permanent Representatives representing a whole-of-government view, is the appropriate forum for shaping the future direction of the Organisation, for discussing and deciding key policy issues, and for taking decisions involving obligations of Members. Council is the relevant forum for policy exchanges with the Secretary-General in his capacity as Chair.

As specified in the Convention, each Member country “has one vote” and the European Commission “shall take part in the work of the OECD”. In Council, decisions by mutual agreement are the rule, except for special cases. Council meetings shall normally be held once a month at the level of Permanent Representatives. The Council concentrates on policy and strategic issues.

In accordance with Article 10 of the Convention, the Secretary-General is responsible to the Council. He/she chairs the sessions of the Council at the level of Permanent Representatives.

Once per year, the Council meets at Ministerial level. The (MCM) is attended by Ministers of finance, economy, foreign affairs, trade and other government departments from the Organisation’s Member and Partner countries, as well as by representatives of other International Organisations. The MCM is chaired by one alternating Member who is supported by two Vice Chairs.

• Previous Ministerial Council Meetings and MCM Statements

As set out in the OECD Governance Resolution, the Executive Committee (ExCo) has the following roles:

‒ Assists the Council by preparing for its decisions on reports and proposals – including draft Acts of the Organisation and agreements elaborated by the substantive committees or other such specialist bodies;

‒ Advises the Council on preparations and follow-up to Ministerial meetings of OECD bodies; and on committee structures, mandates and evaluation;

‒ Advises the Council on strategic issues and priorities, including those regarding the management and operations of the Organisation, where these fall within the competence of Council and which are not otherwise covered by other standing committees;

‒ Advises the Council on policy issues not covered by the mandates of the other bodies directly subordinate to the Council;

‒ Carries out any functions delegated to it by Council, and reports to it as appropriate.

ExCo is chaired by a Permanent Representative of a Member country and its members are usually at the level of Deputy Permanent Representatives.

In 2006, Members agreed on a Resolution of the Council on a New Governance Structure for the Organisation, regarding the role of the Council, the Secretary-General, the standing committees and special bodies, as well as the substantive committees, in line with the OECD Convention.

Since its initial adoption in 2006 [C(2006)78/FINAL], the Governance Resolution was reviewed on two occasions, in 2010 [C(2010)140] and in 2014. The 2014 review’s outcomes are set out in C(2014)90/REV2 and, as regards decision-making, were integrated with the revised Resolution on Governance in a new Resolution C(2015)100.

This was followed by a two stage assessment process: the Secretary-General informed Council on the implementation of the recommendations on decision-making and working methods in 2015 C(2015)91/REV1, and Council assessed  the respective recommendation in 2019 based on a report prepared by the Secretariat C(2019)125. The follow-up report was presented in May 2021 C(2021)70/REV1.

• OECD Convention
• Financial regulations of the OECD

As set out in the OECD Governance Resolution, while Council operates as the strategic governing body, it is assisted by its standing committees in the preparation of discussions and decisions on substantive issues. Operational issues are handled by its standing committees. The work in these bodies proceeds under the direction of Council, in accordance with the mandates and delegated authorities for each of the standing committees.

There are three plenary standing committees: Executive Committee (ExCo), Budget Committee (BC) and an External Relations Committee (ERC). Each of the three bodies is responsible for a cohesive group of functions and issues.

Each standing committee has a Chair and one or two Vice-Chairs to assist her/him. They are elected yearly by mutual agreement through a transparent and fair process. Chairs are elected by the Council, Vice-chairs by their committee. Chairs and Vice-Chairs are eligible for re-election once.

Each standing committee decides by mutual agreement how to further organise its work, including the possibility of establishing a bureau.

Substantive Committees

As set out in the OECD Governance Resolution, through its committee structure the OECD’s substantive policy agenda and outputs respond directly to the needs of, and are closely monitored by, senior policy officials from capitals in a way that may be unique among international organisations.

It is these committees that produce the outputs of the OECD, the policy advice, guidelines, principles (“soft law”) and best practices. The working methods of the committees are one of the institution’s hallmarks, the source of its added value and the support it enjoys in capitals.

Substantive Committee participants are specialists or experts, often coming from Member and Partner States’ capitals. Their Chairs are usually designated among the committee Delegates. Partners (i.e. non-Members) may participate in the work.

Special Bodies:

In the past, special bodies, restricted or plenary, were created by Council for a particular substantive, advisory or functional mission. Some of them have been discontinued (e.g. the Informal Group on the Site and the Committee on Public Affairs and Communications). As these special bodies’ activities are more focused on specific areas, their interaction with Council, if any, is less intense than is the case between Council and standing committees. These bodies have proven their usefulness and added value.

Currently, these are: the Audit Committee, the Pension Budget and Reserve Funds Management Board and the Evaluation Committee.

• List of OECD committees/bodies
  
  
• Legal acts database
  
  
• OECD Global relations

Council and Executive Committee Secretariat
E-mail: ecouncil@oecd.org
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