On 22 December 1969, the Council of Ministers of the Six decides to grant the European Parliament new budgetary powers.

On 21 April 1970, the Council decides that financial contributions from the six Member States would henceforth be replaced by the Communities’ own resources.

Treaty amending certain budgetary provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities, signed in Luxembourg on 22 April 1970.

Images of the signature of the Treaty amending certain budgetary provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities, which took place on 22 April 1970 in the Alcide de Gasperi building of the European Parliament in Luxembourg. The following were signatories to the Treaty: Pierre Harmel, Belgian Foreign Minister, Walter Scheel, FRG Foreign Minister, Maurice Schumann, French Foreign Minister, Aldo Moro, Italian Foreign Minister, Gaston Thorn, Luxembourg Foreign and External Trade Minister and H. J. de Koster, Netherlands Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

The Council of Ministers of the Nine decides to strengthen the budgetary powers of the European Parliament.

Joint Declaration, issued on 4 March 1975, on the institution of a conciliation procedure between the Parliament and the Council, applicable to acts with significant financial implications.

Treaty amending certain financial provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities. On 22 July 1975, in Brussels, the Member States of the Europe of the Nine sign this Treaty which provides for the establishment of a Court of Auditors and strengthens the European Parliament's budgetary powers. These reforms proved necessary following the implementation of the financial system of own resources, which established the financial autonomy of the European Communities.

Even though the European Parliamentary Assembly has only limited legislative powers, its budgetary powers impose on it a particular responsibility. In an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde on 6 November 1979, Pierre Bernard-Reymond, French Junior Foreign Minister, wishes to see the Assembly exercise its budgetary powers in a spirit of dialogue with the Council.

Joint Declaration by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 30ºJune 1982 on various measures to improve the budgetary procedure.

Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 June 1988 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure.

In April 1989 in Strasbourg, the President of the European Parliament, Lord Henry Plumb, signs the budget of the European Communities in the presence of Martin Bangemann, Commissioner for relations with the Parliament (second from the left).

Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 October 1993 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure.

Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure.

In December 2000, Nicole Fontaine, President of the European Parliament, signs the 2001 budget of the European Union in Strasbourg, in the presence of Michaele Schreyer (first on the left), Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for the Budget Directorate-General.

In this interview, Paul Collowald, then Head of the Private Office of Pierre Pflimlin, President of the European Parliament, describes the discreet but significant role played by Pierre Pflimlin from 1984 to 1987 as President of the European Parliament and, in particular, his contribution to the realisation of the Parliament’s budgetary powers when the Community budget was being finally adopted.

Diagram illustrating the budgetary procedure provided for by Article 272 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Interinstitutional Agreement on 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management.

Diagram showing the budgetary procedure as provided for in Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (EU). Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the European Parliament shares the power to decide on the entire annual budget of the EU with the Council of the European Union and it has the final say.

Interinstitutional agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management.

Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, signs the European Union budget on 20 November 2013 in Strasbourg.