← Votes·2023-02-16

The establishment of an independent EU ethics body

Vote ID 153275Source: official EP roll-call records

Official roll-call results (EP minutes) ↗

/ 100

Importance Score

Medium importance

Why this vote stands out:

✓Some political group division
✓Some national delegation divergence
✓Very close result
✓High participation
✓Many MEPs voted against their group

Show full breakdown

Topic importance+0 / 15

Turnout+4 / 5

Vote type+0 / 25

Close vote+12 / 15

Legislative+0 / 15

Rebel votes+7 / 10

Group division+10 / 15

Country division+10 / 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 “The establishment of an independent EU ethics body”. EPP, ECR, PfE, NI and ESN voted mostly in favour, while S&D, Renew, Greens-EFA and Left voted mostly against. The motion was adopted by a narrow margin (266 for, 251 against, 21 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

266

Against

251

Abstain

Margin of victory

15 votes

Turnout (cast)

538

Absent

167

Participation rate

76.3%

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

Close vote analysis

The margin was 15 votes. 167 MEPs did not vote.

Could absences have changed the outcome? The number of absent MEPs (167) was larger than the 15-vote margin, so absences were numerically significant.

Groups whose absences exceeded the margin

EPPhad 40 absent MEPs (margin was 15)
S&Dhad 38 absent MEPs (margin was 15)
PfEhad 20 absent MEPs (margin was 15)
Renewhad 18 absent MEPs (margin was 15)
NIhad 18 absent MEPs (margin was 15)

Countries whose absences exceeded the margin

Germany (26 absent)France (18 absent)Italy (18 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 132Against 7Abstain 0Absent 40

S&D136 MEPs

For 4Against 94Abstain 0Absent 38

Renew100 MEPs

For 19Against 58Abstain 5Absent 18

Greens/EFA71 MEPs

For 1Against 62Abstain 0Absent 8

ECR64 MEPs

For 48Against 0Abstain 2Absent 14

PfE65 MEPs

For 44Against 0Abstain 1Absent 20

NI46 MEPs

For 13Against 8Abstain 7Absent 18

The Left37 MEPs

For 1Against 22Abstain 4Absent 10

ESN4 MEPs

For 3Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Country angle

Most in favour

Italy38
Poland38
Netherlands11
Romania11
Austria9

Most against

France40
Spain37
Germany36
Portugal12
Finland7

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Greece
Ireland

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria19 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 0Absent 1

Belgium21 MEPs

For 7Against 5Abstain 4Absent 5

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 6Against 3Abstain 0Absent 8

Croatia12 MEPs

For 5Against 5Abstain 2Absent 0

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 0Against 0Abstain 0Absent 6

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 8Against 3Abstain 4Absent 6

Denmark14 MEPs

For 9Against 5Abstain 0Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 1Against 5Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland14 MEPs

For 5Against 7Abstain 0Absent 2

France79 MEPs

For 20Against 40Abstain 1Absent 18

Germany96 MEPs

For 34Against 36Abstain 0Absent 26

Greece21 MEPs

For 3Against 3Abstain 0Absent 15

Hungary21 MEPs

For 8Against 4Abstain 0Absent 9

Ireland13 MEPs

For 5Against 7Abstain 0Absent 1

Italy76 MEPs

For 38Against 14Abstain 6Absent 18

Latvia8 MEPs

For 4Against 3Abstain 0Absent 1

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 3Against 3Abstain 0Absent 5

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 2Against 4Abstain 0Absent 0

Malta6 MEPs

For 1Against 1Abstain 0Absent 4

Netherlands29 MEPs

For 11Against 11Abstain 1Absent 6

Poland52 MEPs

For 38Against 8Abstain 0Absent 6

Portugal21 MEPs

For 6Against 12Abstain 2Absent 1

Romania33 MEPs

For 11Against 10Abstain 0Absent 12

Slovakia14 MEPs

For 6Against 3Abstain 1Absent 4

Slovenia8 MEPs

For 4Against 4Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain59 MEPs

For 13Against 37Abstain 0Absent 9

Sweden21 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 0Absent 3

Individual MEP positions

Loading individual positions…