The Budgetary treaties of the European Communities were two treaties in the 1970s amending the
Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sig ...
in respects to powers over the
Community budget.
The first treaty, signed in 1970, gave the
European Parliament the last word on what is known as "non-compulsory expenditure" (compulsory spending is that resulting from
EC treaties (including
agriculture) and international agreements; the rest is non-compulsory). The second treaty, signed in 1975, gave Parliament the power to reject the budget as a whole and created the
European Court of Auditors. However, the Council still has the last word on compulsory spending while Parliament has the last word on non-compulsory spending.
As a result of these treaties, the budgetary authority of what is now the
European Union is held jointly by the
Council of the European Union and the
European Parliament. Parliament is responsible for discharging the implementation of previous budgets, on the basis of the annual report of the
European Court of Auditors. It has refused to approve the budget only twice, in 1984 and in 1998. On the latter occasion it led to the resignation of the
Santer Commission.
See also
*
European Parliament#Budget
References
budgetary
1975 in the European Economic Community
1970 in the European Economic Community
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