of effort is put into reaching relative consensus on any decision. A process of voting within the Council does exist, but is hardly ever used.

Article 46 of the Constitution allows for the appointment of state secretaries who, like ministers without portfolio, are responsible for a particular policy area within a ministry. Unlike ministers without portfolio, however, state secretaries do not attend meetings of the Council of Ministers unless invited, and even then they have no voting rights. Within their ministry, state secretaries are