← Votes·2025-03-12

White paper on the future of European defence

Defence & Security87%★

Confidence: 87%

Assigned by: rule-based classifier

Evidence:

title/description contains "defence"
title/description contains "european defence"

Reviewed: yes

Methodology: topic-rules-v0.1

View all votes on Defence & Security →

Vote ID 172701Source: official EP roll-call records

Official roll-call results (EP minutes) ↗

/ 100

Importance Score

Medium importance

Why this vote stands out:

✓High-interest topic: Defence
✓Strong political group division
✓Some national delegation divergence
✓Close result
✓High participation
✓Many MEPs voted against their group

Show full breakdown

Topic importance+15 / 15

Turnout+5 / 5

Vote type+0 / 25

Close vote+6 / 15

Legislative+0 / 15

Rebel votes+10 / 10

Group division+12 / 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 “White paper on the future of European defence”. S&D, Left, NI and ESN voted mostly in favour, while EPP, ECR and Renew voted mostly against. PfE and Greens-EFA mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a comfortable margin (251 for, 309 against, 116 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.

Result analysis

For

251

Against

309

Abstain

116

Margin of victory

58 votes

Turnout (cast)

676

Absent

Participation rate

93.9%

✓This was not a close vote — the margin was comfortable.

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 4Against 165Abstain 4Absent 12

S&D135 MEPs

For 125Against 5Abstain 2Absent 3

PfE81 MEPs

For 17Against 19Abstain 42Absent 3

ECR82 MEPs

For 2Against 47Abstain 25Absent 8

Renew79 MEPs

For 7Against 65Abstain 0Absent 7

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 16Against 1Abstain 31Absent 5

The Left45 MEPs

For 37Against 4Abstain 1Absent 3

NI30 MEPs

For 22Against 1Abstain 6Absent 1

ESN26 MEPs

For 19Against 2Abstain 3Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

Italy39
Spain26
Romania15
Czech Republic12
Austria10

Most against

Poland41
Germany38
Netherlands20
Hungary17
Sweden13

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
France
Germany

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 10Against 6Abstain 2Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 7Against 10Abstain 3Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 7Against 9Abstain 0Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 4Against 7Abstain 0Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 3Against 3Abstain 0Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 12Against 8Abstain 1Absent 0

Denmark15 MEPs

For 0Against 10Abstain 5Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 2Against 4Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 2Against 9Abstain 4Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 26Against 20Abstain 30Absent 6

Germany96 MEPs

For 36Against 38Abstain 14Absent 8

Greece21 MEPs

For 10Against 9Abstain 1Absent 1

Hungary21 MEPs

For 2Against 17Abstain 1Absent 1

Ireland14 MEPs

For 9Against 4Abstain 1Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 39Against 8Abstain 22Absent 7

Latvia9 MEPs

For 1Against 8Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 3Against 6Abstain 1Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 3Against 0Abstain 2Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 4Against 20Abstain 7Absent 0

Poland53 MEPs

For 3Against 41Abstain 7Absent 2

Portugal21 MEPs

For 10Against 8Abstain 1Absent 2

Romania33 MEPs

For 15Against 12Abstain 2Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 7Against 7Abstain 1Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 2Against 7Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 26Against 23Abstain 8Absent 3

Sweden21 MEPs

For 5Against 13Abstain 3Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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