The CBSS founders were Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, Thorvald Stoltenberg, Lennart Meri, Jānis Jurkāns, Algirdas Saudargas, Henning Christophersen, Paavo Väyrynen, Andrei Kozyrev, Margaretha af Ugglas, and Krzysztof Skubiszewski.

[4] Since its founding, the CBSS has contributed to ensuring positive developments within the Baltic Sea region and has served as a driving force for multilateral cooperation.

[4] On 3 March 2022, a declaration from 11 members of the CBSS suspended Russia from the Council's activities with immediate effect as a result of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The CSO serves as the main discussion forum and decision-making body for matters related to the work of the Council between Ministerial Sessions.

The CSO Chairman is a representative, usually at ambassadorial level, appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country which holds the Council Presidency.