Principle of annuality
Article 6
1. The appropriations entered in the Agency's budget shall be authorised for a financial year which shall run from 1 January to 31 December. 2. Commitment appropriations shall cover the total cost of the legal commitments entered into during the financial year or by 31 March of the following year for those legal commitments most of the preparatory stages of which have been undertaken by 31 December. 3. Payment appropriations shall cover payments made to honour the legal commitments entered into in the financial year or preceding financial years. 4. Given the needs of the Agency and subject to the approval by the Steering Board in accordance with Article 15, the unused appropriations may be entered in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of the following financial year. Those appropriations must be used first. 5. Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not prevent budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year being broken down over several years into annual instalments.