The European Parliament recently adopted the 2026 EU budget focusing on competitiveness, research, and security. Total commitments are set at €192.8 billion with payments at €190.1 billion. Notably, additional funding was secured for key areas such as energy, transport infrastructure, humanitarian aid, civil protection, defense preparedness, and border management. Despite facing unexpected borrowing costs, key flagship programs like Erasmus+ and EU4Health were safeguarded through the cascade mechanism. The budget was approved by 419 votes to 185, with Council endorsing the deal.