The General Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union.

The respective secretariats of the Schengen Agreement and of now-defunct Western European Union and European Political Cooperation have along the years been integrated with the Council Secretariat.

The organisation of the General Secretariat is decided by a simple majority of votes by the Council.

[6] It currently consists of 7 directorates-general, the Legal Service, 5 departments under the Secretary-General (e.g. internal audit, general political questions) and has around 3200 employees.

[citation needed] The following services are headed by a Deputy Director-General: