← 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 172714Source: 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
✓High participation
✓Many MEPs voted against their group

Show full breakdown

Topic importance+15 / 15

Turnout+5 / 5

Vote type+0 / 25

Close vote+0 / 15

Legislative+0 / 15

Rebel votes+10 / 10

Group division+12 / 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 “White paper on the future of European defence”. S&D, Left and NI voted mostly in favour, while EPP, PfE, Renew, ECR and ESN voted mostly against. Greens-EFA mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a comfortable margin (216 for, 399 against, 48 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

216

Against

399

Abstain

Margin of victory

183 votes

Turnout (cast)

663

Absent

Participation rate

92.1%

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

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 4Against 165Abstain 3Absent 13

S&D135 MEPs

For 115Against 8Abstain 3Absent 9

PfE81 MEPs

For 2Against 74Abstain 1Absent 4

Renew79 MEPs

For 11Against 59Abstain 1Absent 8

ECR82 MEPs

For 5Against 64Abstain 2Absent 11

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 18Against 1Abstain 30Absent 4

The Left45 MEPs

For 43Against 0Abstain 0Absent 2

NI30 MEPs

For 16Against 5Abstain 5Absent 4

ESN26 MEPs

For 1Against 20Abstain 3Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

Sweden12
Greece9
Portugal9
Ireland8
Finland7

Most against

Germany58
France50
Poland41
Italy35
Spain29

Divided delegations

Belgium
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Portugal

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 5Against 11Abstain 2Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 8Against 10Abstain 2Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 2Against 13Abstain 0Absent 2

Croatia12 MEPs

For 3Against 7Abstain 1Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 2Against 4Abstain 0Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 5Against 14Abstain 1Absent 1

Denmark15 MEPs

For 5Against 6Abstain 3Absent 1

Estonia7 MEPs

For 2Against 4Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 7Against 5Abstain 0Absent 3

France82 MEPs

For 23Against 50Abstain 1Absent 8

Germany96 MEPs

For 16Against 58Abstain 17Absent 5

Greece21 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 1Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 1Against 16Abstain 2Absent 2

Ireland14 MEPs

For 8Against 4Abstain 2Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 33Against 35Abstain 1Absent 7

Latvia9 MEPs

For 2Against 7Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 3Against 5Abstain 2Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 2Against 3Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 4Against 0Abstain 1Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 6Against 20Abstain 5Absent 0

Poland53 MEPs

For 4Against 41Abstain 4Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 0Absent 3

Romania33 MEPs

For 10Against 16Abstain 2Absent 5

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 6Against 8Abstain 1Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 2Against 6Abstain 0Absent 1

Spain60 MEPs

For 27Against 29Abstain 0Absent 4

Sweden21 MEPs

For 12Against 9Abstain 0Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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