The budget is the outcome of the budgetary process, and it is the instrument by which the government seeks to influence the economic condition of a country. The role of a parliament in the budgetary process depends on a number of factors, such as the autonomy of the parliament, the duration and speed with which quality budgetary decisions are made. All these are also features of the independence and autonomy of a parliament. Institutions of the budgetary process, parliament above all, should, through their mechanisms, enable a high-quality and effective allocation and control of the spending of budgetary resources. In Croatia, the Parliament (Sabor) does not have the kind of role and place in the budgetary process it deserves, as indicated by interviews carried out with MPs, members of the Finance and Budgetary Committee of the Parliament, and a questionnaire administered in the Croatian Parliament. This research showed that there is plenty of room for the importance and role of the Sabor in the budgetary process to be enhanced. In the coming period unremitting work is required to make sure that the Parliament has the kind of importance that it deserves and thus justifies the trust placed in it by the electorate.