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The EU budget cycle and discharge: who does what

Last checked against sources 26 October 2026 · 9 min read
Valid for: COM/AD/108/2026 (AD5) and COM/AST/109/2026 (AST3); COM/AD/111/2026 (AD6) and COM/AST/112/2026 (AST2). Every source here predates the earliest of their cut-offs. EPSO/AD/427/26 Part 2: check against EPSO's source list when it is published.

Each year the Commission drafts the budget, Parliament and the Council adopt it under Article 314 TFEU, and the Commission implements it on its own responsibility. The Court of Auditors audits the accounts and gives a statement of assurance. Parliament, acting on a recommendation from the Council, then grants the Commission discharge, by 15 May of year N+2.

The annual budget procedure: Article 314 TFEU

The financial year runs from 1 January to 31 December (Article 313 TFEU). Parliament and the Council establish the annual budget by a special legislative procedure, within the ceilings of the multiannual financial framework. The Treaty fixes every deadline.

The Article 314 TFEU calendar
Step	Deadline or period	Paragraph
Each institution (except the European Central Bank) draws up estimates of its expenditure	Before 1 July	314(1)
The Commission submits the draft budget to Parliament and the Council	Not later than 1 September of the preceding year	314(2)
The Council adopts its position and forwards it to Parliament	Not later than 1 October	314(3)
Parliament approves, does nothing (budget deemed adopted) or adopts amendments by a majority of its component members	Within 42 days	314(4)
The Council can accept all of Parliament's amendments, and then no conciliation is needed	Within 10 days	314(4)(c)
The Conciliation Committee (Council members and an equal number of MEPs) seeks a joint text	Within 21 days of being convened	314(5)
Parliament and the Council each approve or reject the joint text	Within 14 days	314(6) and (7)
If the Council rejects but Parliament approves, Parliament may confirm its amendments by a majority of its component members and three-fifths of the votes cast	Within 14 days of the Council's rejection	314(7)(d)

If conciliation fails, the Commission submits a new draft budget (Article 314(8)). When the procedure is complete, the President of the European Parliament declares the budget definitively adopted (Article 314(9)). The Commission may amend its draft until the Conciliation Committee is convened (Article 314(2)). The Commission's page notes that in practice it tries to present the draft in June, and that the procedure under Article 314 runs from 1 September to 31 December.

If no budget is adopted by 1 January, the system of provisional twelfths applies: each month, up to one twelfth of the previous year's appropriations for a chapter may be spent, and no more than one twelfth of that chapter in the draft budget (Article 315 TFEU).

Implementation: the Commission, on its own responsibility

The Commission shall implement the budget in cooperation with the Member States, in accordance with the provisions of the regulations made pursuant to Article 322, on its own responsibility and within the limits of the appropriations, having regard to the principles of sound financial management.

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 317, first paragraph

Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation sets out three methods of implementation. The Commission's page on management modes gives the approximate share of each.

Management modes
Mode	Who manages day to day	Approximate share (Commission page)
Direct management	The Commission's departments, including staff in Union delegations, or executive agencies	Around 20% of the EU budget 2021-2027
Shared management	Member States' authorities, with the Commission	Around 70% of EU programmes
Indirect management	Implementing partners entrusted by the Commission: international organisations, the EIB and EIF, Union bodies, national bodies and others	Around 10% of the overall EU budget

Whatever the mode, the Commission page says "it is the Commission that has the ultimate responsibility for its execution". The Financial Regulation adds a limit: the Commission may not delegate budget implementation tasks to third parties where they involve a large measure of discretion implying political choices (Article 62(3)).

The Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509

The detailed rules sit in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of 23 September 2024, a recast adopted by Parliament and the Council under Article 322 TFEU and applying from 30 September 2024. The articles a candidate most needs:

Financial Regulation 2024/2509: articles that matter
Article	Subject	Key rule
62	Methods of implementation	Direct, shared and indirect management; no delegation of tasks involving political choices
74(1)	Authorising officer	Responsible for implementing revenue and expenditure in line with sound financial management and for legality and regularity
251	Provisional accounts	The Commission's accounting officer sends the consolidated provisional accounts to the Court of Auditors by 31 March
252	Final accounts	The Commission sends the final consolidated accounts to Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors by 30 June; the Court gives its opinion on their reliability by 31 July; publication by 15 November with the statement of assurance
253	Integrated reporting	By 31 July the Commission communicates an integrated set of financial and accountability reports, including the annual management and performance report
264	Court of Auditors' annual report	Observations to the institutions by 30 June; replies by 15 October; report to the discharge authorities by 15 November
266	Discharge timetable	Parliament, on a Council recommendation adopted by qualified majority, gives discharge before 15 May of year n+2

Accounts and the evaluation report: Article 318 TFEU

Each year the Commission submits to Parliament and the Council the accounts of the preceding year and a financial statement of the Union's assets and liabilities. It also submits an evaluation report on the Union's finances based on the results achieved (Article 318 TFEU). The Commission meets these duties through its Integrated Financial and Accountability Reporting, due by 31 July (Financial Regulation, Article 253). Its centrepiece is the Annual Management and Performance Report (AMPR), which consolidates the annual activity reports of the Directors-General, each with a declaration of assurance from the Director-General as authorising officer by delegation (Commission accounts page).

The Commission's page lists the AMPR, the consolidated annual accounts and the report on the follow-up to discharge as parts of that reporting, and calls the AMPR one of the main documents the Court of Auditors uses for its statement of assurance. The AMPR for financial year 2024 was published on 17 June 2025.

External audit: the Court of Auditors and the statement of assurance

"The Court of Auditors shall carry out the Union's audit" (Article 285 TFEU). It has one national from each Member State, appointed by the Council for six years after consulting Parliament (Articles 285 and 286). Its Members elect a President for three years.

The Court of Auditors shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions which shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 287(1), second subparagraph

The Court also draws up an annual report after each financial year, published in the Official Journal with the institutions' replies, and may issue special reports at any time (Article 287(4)). It assists Parliament and the Council in their control of the budget. It does not grant discharge.

The Court of Auditors' 2024 annual report: the opinions
Opinion	Finding
Reliability of the accounts	Not affected by material misstatements
Legality and regularity of budget expenditure	Adverse opinion: materially affected by error
Estimated level of error in budget expenditure	3.6% (5.2% in expenditure subject to complex, mainly reimbursement-based rules)
Recovery and Resilience Facility expenditure	Qualified opinion
Adopted	At the Court's meetings of 3 and 10 July 2025

The Court's report sets its materiality threshold at 2.0%, so a 3.6% estimate means a material level of error. For the Court as an institution, see the Court of Auditors hub.

Discharge: Parliament decides, on the Council's recommendation

The European Parliament, acting on a recommendation from the Council, shall give a discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget.

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 319(1), first sentence

To that end the Council and then Parliament examine, in turn, the accounts, the financial statement and the evaluation report under Article 318, the Court of Auditors' annual report with the institutions' replies, the statement of assurance and any relevant special reports (Article 319(1)). Parliament may hear the Commission on how expenditure was executed or how financial control systems operate (Article 319(2)). The Commission must act on the observations in the discharge decisions and in the Council's recommendation, and report on what it has done if Parliament or the Council asks (Article 319(3)).

The discharge timeline for financial year N
When	What happens	Source
By 31 July of N+1	The Commission's integrated financial and accountability reporting	Financial Regulation, Article 253; Commission page
Autumn of N+1 (report to the discharge authorities by 15 November)	The Court of Auditors' annual report and statement of assurance	Commission page; Financial Regulation, Article 264
Before Parliament's decision	The Council examines the documents first and adopts its recommendation, by qualified majority	Article 319(1) TFEU; Financial Regulation, Articles 266(1) and 267(2)
Before 15 May of N+2	Parliament grants, postpones or refuses discharge	Financial Regulation, Article 266(1); Commission page: first half of N+2

Granting discharge leads to the formal closure of the accounts for the year (Commission page). The Treaty speaks only of the Commission's discharge; the other institutions and bodies go through separate discharge procedures for the part of the budget they manage, which is mainly administrative (Commission page).

Trap table

Pairings that are easy to swap
If a question says	The text says	Source
The Council grants discharge	Parliament grants it, acting on a recommendation from the Council	Article 319(1) TFEU
The Court of Auditors grants discharge	The Court audits and gives the statement of assurance; Parliament grants discharge	Articles 287(1) and 319(1) TFEU
The Council declares the budget adopted	The President of the European Parliament declares it	Article 314(9) TFEU
Member States implement the budget on their own responsibility	The Commission implements it, on its own responsibility, in cooperation with the Member States	Article 317 TFEU
Discharge comes in year N+1	Before 15 May of year N+2	Financial Regulation, Article 266(1)
Parliament has 21 days to act on the Council's position	42 days; 21 days is the Conciliation Committee's period	Article 314(4) and (5) TFEU

Our common traps guide has the full list across the syllabus.

How this is tested

Budget and human resources are named in the Commission's guidance to candidates as part of the content area on the Commission's governance (confirmed). We estimate that questions here pair an institution with the wrong role, or a deadline with the wrong step, so the trap table above is the core revision tool.

Worked example 1 (our own)

Who gives the Commission a discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget? A) The Council, on a recommendation from the Court of Auditors. B) The European Parliament, acting on a recommendation from the Council. C) The Court of Auditors, after examining the accounts. D) The European Council, by consensus.

Answer: B. Source: Article 319(1) TFEU. The Court of Auditors provides the statement of assurance (Article 287(1)) but grants nothing.

Worked example 2 (our own)

By what date must the Commission submit its draft annual budget to Parliament and the Council? A) Before 1 July. B) Not later than 1 September. C) Not later than 1 October. D) By 15 November.

Answer: B. Source: Article 314(2) TFEU. 1 July is the deadline for the institutions' estimates (314(1)); 1 October is the Council's position (314(3)); 15 November is the Court of Auditors' annual report (Financial Regulation, Article 264(4)).

For the Commission's wider role, read the Commission's powers under Article 17 TEU. Then sit the free test in the real format.

Questions people ask

Who grants discharge for the EU budget?

The European Parliament, acting on a recommendation from the Council (Article 319(1) TFEU). The Council adopts its recommendation by qualified majority, and Parliament decides before 15 May of year N+2 (Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Article 266).

What is the statement of assurance?

The Court of Auditors' statement to Parliament and the Council on the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, published in the Official Journal (Article 287(1) TFEU). It is one of the documents examined for discharge.

Who implements the EU budget?

The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, on its own responsibility and within the appropriations (Article 317 TFEU). Most spending is under shared management with Member States, but the Commission keeps the ultimate responsibility.

What happens if the annual budget is not adopted by 1 January?

Provisional twelfths: each month, up to one twelfth of the previous year's appropriations for a chapter may be spent, capped at one twelfth of that chapter in the draft budget (Article 315 TFEU).

Who declares the annual budget adopted?

The President of the European Parliament, once the Article 314 procedure is complete (Article 314(9) TFEU).

Official sources

Every fact on this page comes from these documents. Quotations are from the official text in this language.