The management board shall draw up the estimate accompanied by the establishment plan and shall forward it immediately to the Commission, which on that basis shall establish the relevant estimates in the preliminary draft budget which it places before the Council pursuant to Article 203 of the Treaty.
The financial year shall run from 1 January to 31 December.
Each institution of the Community shall, before I July, draw up estimates of its expenditure. The Commission shall consolidate these estimates in a preliminary draft budget. It shall attach thereto an opinion which may contain different estimates.
The preliminary draft budget shall contain an estimate of revenue and an estimate of expenditure.
The Commission shall place the preliminary draft budget before the Council not later than 1 September of the year preceding that in which the budget is to be implemented.
The Council shall consult the Commission and, where appropriate, the other institutions concerned whenever it intends to depart from the preliminary draft budget.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall establish the draft budget and forward it to the European Parliament.
