The paper deals with budgetary principles. Emphasis is placed on budgetary principles in the Republic of Croatia and the European Union. It was found that the budgetary principles are prescribed by the legal framework. These are: the principle of unity and accuracy, the principle of one year, the principle of balance, the principle of unit of account, the principle of universality, the principle of specification, the principle of sound financial management and the principle of transparency. The budgetary principles of the Republic of Croatia are harmonized with the European ones and there are no significant differences between them, except in terms of the unit of account principle and the elaboration of individual principles. Of particular interest is the issue of accountability for spending public money and sanctioning violators of budgetary principles. Several rare examples of sanctions in Croatia have been identified, but all relate to local and regional self-government units. Violators of budgetary principles are also very rarely sanctioned in the European Union. Instead, the Union is more inclined to issue warnings. The principles of transparency, sound financial management, accuracy and specification are most often violated. Given the great importance of the budget, sanctions should be approached more responsibly and consistently.