‘4.   The expenditure of a financial year shall be entered in the accounts for that year on the basis of expenditure authorised no later than 31 December and for which the corresponding payments were made by the accounting officer before the following 15 January.’;

‘2.   The Deputy Secretary-General shall forward the preliminary draft budget to the SIS/SIRENE Working Party before 15 October and attach an explanatory memorandum.

3.   The SIS/SIRENE Working Party shall deliver its opinion on that preliminary draft.

4.   The Deputy Secretary-General shall establish the draft budget and forward it by 15 November to the States referred to in Article 25.’;

‘2.   An amending budget shall be submitted on an annual basis, in the three months following the closure of the accounts as laid down in Article 46(1), with the aim of entering the balance of the budget outturn from the previous financial year as revenue in the case of a positive balance or expenditure if the balance is negative.’;

‘Article 12

The budget shall be implemented in accordance with the principle that the authorising officer and the accounting officer are different individuals. The duties of authorising officer, accounting officer and internal auditor shall be mutually incompatible.’;

‘2.   The authorising officer may decide on transfers between articles within each chapter. With the agreement of the SIS/SIRENE Working Party, he may decide on transfers between chapters within the same title. The SIS/SIRENE Working Party shall give its agreement under the same conditions as for adopting its opinion on the budget.’;

‘Article 23

The liability to disciplinary action of the authorising officer and accounting officer in the event of failure to comply with the provisions of this Financial Regulation shall be as laid down in the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities.’;

‘CHAPTER III A

‘Article 31

No discrimination shall be practised between nationals of Member States and of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland on grounds of nationality in respect of contracts entered into by the Deputy Secretary-General on behalf of the Member States referred to in Article 25.’;

‘Article 36

Contracts to be concluded by the Deputy Secretary-General on behalf of the Member States referred to in Article 25 and by the appropriate representatives of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland after an invitation to tender has been issued shall first be submitted for the opinion of an Advisory Committee on procurements and contracts.’;

‘Article 40

The files submitted to the Advisory Committee for an opinion pursuant to Article 39(b) to (e), shall also be accompanied by a report approved unanimously by the Member States referred to in Article 25, as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.’;

‘Article 41

The opinions of the Advisory Committee shall be signed by its chairman. In order to avoid delays in the process as a result of the intervention of the Advisory Committee, the Member States referred to in Article 25, as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, may, if they deem it necessary, impose a reasonable deadline by which an opinion must be furnished. Opinions shall be communicated to the Deputy Secretary-General and to the Member States referred to in Article 25, as well as to Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Following due consideration of that opinion, the Member States referred to in Article 25, as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, shall take a final decision on the case by unanimity. Once that decision has been taken, the contract or contracts which form the subject of each case shall be concluded by the Deputy Secretary-General on behalf of the Member States referred to in Article 25 and by the appropriate representatives of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.’;

‘6.   Where a contract has not been performed or completion has been late, the Deputy Secretary-General shall ensure that the Member States referred to in Article 25, as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, are adequately compensated in respect of all damages, interests and costs by the deduction of the amount from the deposit, whether this has been lodged directly by the supplier or contractor or by a third party.’;

‘1.   The Deputy Secretary-General shall, within three months from the end of the budget implementation period, draw up a revenue and expenditure account and a balance sheet and transmit them to the SIS/SIRENE Working Party.’;

‘2.   By derogation from Article 8, for the purposes of the budget referred to in paragraph 1, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Council shall forward the preliminary draft budget to the SIS/SIRENE Working Party as soon as possible after the adoption of this Financial Regulation. Following the delivery of the opinion of the SIS/SIRENE Working Party and the establishment of the draft budget, the Member States referred to in Article 25, meeting within the Council, shall adopt the budget without delay.’.