← Votes·2020-05-13

2018 discharge: EU general budget, European Commission

Budget87%★

Confidence: 87%

Assigned by: rule-based classifier

Evidence:

title/description contains "budget"
title/description contains "discharge"

Reviewed: yes

Methodology: topic-rules-v0.1

View all votes on Budget →

Institutional Affairs61%

Confidence: 61%

Assigned by: rule-based classifier

Evidence:

title/description contains "european commission"

Reviewed: no

Methodology: topic-rules-v0.1

View all votes on Institutional Affairs →

Vote ID 113803Source: official EP roll-call records

Official roll-call results (EP minutes) ↗

/ 100

Importance Score

Key vote

Why this vote stands out:

✓Resolution / budget vote
✓Budget-related
✓High-interest topic: Budget
✓Some political group division
✓Some national delegation divergence
✓Very close result
✓High participation
✓Many MEPs voted against their group

Show full breakdown

Topic importance+12 / 15

Turnout+5 / 5

Vote type+15 / 25

Close vote+15 / 15

Legislative+12 / 15

Rebel votes+10 / 10

Group division+10 / 15

Country division+8 / 15

Methodology: importance-v0.1 · The Importance Score is a prioritisation indicator. It does not judge whether a vote is good or bad.

What was this vote about?

This vote concerned “2018 discharge: EU general budget, European Commission”. S&D, Renew, Greens-EFA, NI and Left voted mostly in favour, while EPP, PfE and ECR voted mostly against. ESN mostly abstained. The motion was adopted by a narrow margin (328 for, 326 against, 25 abstentions).

Automated summary generated from official vote metadata and observed voting patterns. Not a legal interpretation.

Why it matters

This is a substantive vote (such as an amendment or resolution) that contributes to shaping the final position of the Parliament on a dossier. It reflects the political direction taken on specific provisions. The outcome was close, which makes individual choices and absences especially consequential.

Result analysis

For

328

Against

326

Abstain

Margin of victory

2 votes

Turnout (cast)

679

Absent

Participation rate

96.5%

⚠️This was a close vote — the margin was small relative to the votes cast.

Close vote analysis

The margin was 2 votes. 25 MEPs did not vote.

Could absences have changed the outcome? The number of absent MEPs (25) was larger than the 2-vote margin, so absences were numerically significant.

Groups whose absences exceeded the margin

S&Dhad 8 absent MEPs (margin was 2)
EPPhad 5 absent MEPs (margin was 2)
NIhad 5 absent MEPs (margin was 2)

Countries whose absences exceeded the margin

Germany (6 absent)Greece (4 absent)Poland (4 absent)

Absences larger than the margin are numerically significant but do NOT imply the outcome would have changed. That would require modelling how each absent member would have voted, which this analysis does not do.

By political group

EPP179 MEPs

For 6Against 164Abstain 4Absent 5

S&D136 MEPs

For 126Against 2Abstain 0Absent 8

Renew101 MEPs

For 68Against 30Abstain 1Absent 2

Greens/EFA71 MEPs

For 68Against 0Abstain 1Absent 2

PfE66 MEPs

For 1Against 58Abstain 7Absent 0

ECR63 MEPs

For 1Against 56Abstain 4Absent 2

NI44 MEPs

For 23Against 14Abstain 2Absent 5

The Left38 MEPs

For 35Against 0Abstain 2Absent 1

ESN4 MEPs

For 0Against 0Abstain 4Absent 0

Country angle

Most in favour

Germany49
Spain38
Romania17
Portugal14
Belgium12

Most against

France51
Italy43
Poland40
Netherlands17
Czech Republic13

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Finland
Germany
Greece
Hungary

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria19 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 0Absent 1

Belgium21 MEPs

For 12Against 8Abstain 1Absent 0

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 8Against 8Abstain 0Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 4Against 6Abstain 0Absent 2

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 4Against 2Abstain 0Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 5Against 13Abstain 2Absent 1

Denmark14 MEPs

For 11Against 1Abstain 1Absent 1

Estonia7 MEPs

For 5Against 2Abstain 0Absent 0

Finland14 MEPs

For 9Against 5Abstain 0Absent 0

France79 MEPs

For 26Against 51Abstain 1Absent 1

Germany96 MEPs

For 49Against 29Abstain 12Absent 6

Greece21 MEPs

For 8Against 9Abstain 0Absent 4

Hungary21 MEPs

For 8Against 13Abstain 0Absent 0

Ireland13 MEPs

For 8Against 5Abstain 0Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 32Against 43Abstain 0Absent 1

Latvia8 MEPs

For 4Against 4Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 6Against 5Abstain 0Absent 0

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 4Against 0Abstain 2Absent 0

Malta6 MEPs

For 4Against 2Abstain 0Absent 0

Netherlands29 MEPs

For 12Against 17Abstain 0Absent 0

Poland52 MEPs

For 8Against 40Abstain 0Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 14Against 7Abstain 0Absent 0

Romania33 MEPs

For 17Against 14Abstain 0Absent 2

Slovakia14 MEPs

For 7Against 6Abstain 1Absent 0

Slovenia8 MEPs

For 4Against 4Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain58 MEPs

For 38Against 17Abstain 2Absent 1

Sweden21 MEPs

For 12Against 6Abstain 3Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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