← Votes·2023-07-13

The need for EU action on search and rescue in the Mediterranean

Vote ID 157757Source: official EP roll-call records

Official roll-call results (EP minutes) ↗

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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+15 / 15

Legislative+0 / 15

Rebel votes+7 / 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 “The need for EU action on search and rescue in the Mediterranean”. EPP, PfE, ECR, 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 (285 for, 280 against, 8 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

285

Against

280

Abstain

Margin of victory

5 votes

Turnout (cast)

573

Absent

132

Participation rate

81.3%

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

Close vote analysis

The margin was 5 votes. 132 MEPs did not vote.

Could absences have changed the outcome? The number of absent MEPs (132) was larger than the 5-vote margin, so absences were numerically significant.

Groups whose absences exceeded the margin

S&Dhad 31 absent MEPs (margin was 5)
EPPhad 25 absent MEPs (margin was 5)
NIhad 19 absent MEPs (margin was 5)
Renewhad 15 absent MEPs (margin was 5)
ECRhad 15 absent MEPs (margin was 5)
PfEhad 10 absent MEPs (margin was 5)
Greens-EFAhad 9 absent MEPs (margin was 5)
Lefthad 8 absent MEPs (margin was 5)

Countries whose absences exceeded the margin

Italy (19 absent)Greece (15 absent)France (12 absent)Hungary (10 absent)Spain (10 absent)Romania (8 absent)Bulgaria (7 absent)Cyprus (6 absent)Netherlands (6 absent)Slovakia (6 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 144Against 8Abstain 2Absent 25

S&D136 MEPs

For 5Against 99Abstain 1Absent 31

Renew100 MEPs

For 14Against 69Abstain 2Absent 15

Greens/EFA71 MEPs

For 0Against 62Abstain 0Absent 9

PfE64 MEPs

For 54Against 0Abstain 0Absent 10

ECR65 MEPs

For 49Against 1Abstain 0Absent 15

The Left37 MEPs

For 0Against 29Abstain 0Absent 8

NI46 MEPs

For 12Against 12Abstain 3Absent 19

ESN4 MEPs

For 4Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

Country angle

Most in favour

Poland38
Italy32
Romania16
Czech Republic15
Netherlands12

Most against

Germany51
France41
Spain33
Ireland13
Portugal12

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria19 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 0Absent 1

Belgium21 MEPs

For 6Against 11Abstain 1Absent 3

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 5Against 5Abstain 0Absent 7

Croatia12 MEPs

For 7Against 5Abstain 0Absent 0

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 0Against 0Abstain 0Absent 6

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 15Against 4Abstain 1Absent 1

Denmark14 MEPs

For 8Against 4Abstain 0Absent 2

Estonia7 MEPs

For 2Against 3Abstain 1Absent 1

Finland14 MEPs

For 4Against 7Abstain 1Absent 2

France79 MEPs

For 26Against 41Abstain 0Absent 12

Germany96 MEPs

For 40Against 51Abstain 0Absent 5

Greece21 MEPs

For 2Against 3Abstain 1Absent 15

Hungary21 MEPs

For 10Against 0Abstain 1Absent 10

Ireland13 MEPs

For 0Against 13Abstain 0Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 32Against 25Abstain 0Absent 19

Latvia8 MEPs

For 5Against 3Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 4Against 3Abstain 1Absent 3

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 2Against 2Abstain 0Absent 2

Malta6 MEPs

For 1Against 0Abstain 0Absent 5

Netherlands29 MEPs

For 12Against 11Abstain 0Absent 6

Poland52 MEPs

For 38Against 10Abstain 0Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 7Against 12Abstain 0Absent 2

Romania33 MEPs

For 16Against 9Abstain 0Absent 8

Slovakia14 MEPs

For 6Against 1Abstain 1Absent 6

Slovenia8 MEPs

For 4Against 3Abstain 0Absent 1

Spain59 MEPs

For 16Against 33Abstain 0Absent 10

Sweden21 MEPs

For 8Against 12Abstain 0Absent 1

Individual MEP positions

Loading individual positions…