← 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 172716Source: 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+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 and Left voted mostly in favour, while EPP, PfE, Renew, ECR and ESN voted mostly against. Greens-EFA and NI mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a comfortable margin (205 for, 395 against, 69 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

205

Against

395

Abstain

Margin of victory

190 votes

Turnout (cast)

669

Absent

Participation rate

92.9%

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

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 2Against 164Abstain 7Absent 12

S&D135 MEPs

For 124Against 0Abstain 9Absent 2

PfE81 MEPs

For 0Against 67Abstain 9Absent 5

Renew79 MEPs

For 10Against 62Abstain 0Absent 7

ECR82 MEPs

For 0Against 72Abstain 0Absent 10

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 19Against 4Abstain 25Absent 5

The Left45 MEPs

For 41Against 0Abstain 0Absent 4

NI30 MEPs

For 6Against 4Abstain 16Absent 4

ESN26 MEPs

For 2Against 19Abstain 3Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

Italy34
Sweden11
Ireland9
Portugal9
Finland8

Most against

Germany50
France49
Poland45
Spain30
Netherlands20

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Finland
Greece
Italy
Luxembourg
Malta

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 6Against 5Abstain 7Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 7Against 9Abstain 4Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 2Against 11Abstain 1Absent 3

Croatia12 MEPs

For 2Against 8Abstain 1Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 3Against 3Abstain 0Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 3Against 16Abstain 1Absent 1

Denmark15 MEPs

For 4Against 8Abstain 3Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 2Against 4Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 8Against 7Abstain 0Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 26Against 49Abstain 0Absent 7

Germany96 MEPs

For 19Against 50Abstain 21Absent 6

Greece21 MEPs

For 8Against 9Abstain 2Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 2Against 17Abstain 0Absent 2

Ireland14 MEPs

For 9Against 1Abstain 4Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 34Against 33Abstain 1Absent 8

Latvia9 MEPs

For 1Against 8Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 2Against 6Abstain 2Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 2Against 2Abstain 1Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 2Against 2Abstain 1Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 5Against 20Abstain 4Absent 2

Poland53 MEPs

For 3Against 45Abstain 4Absent 1

Portugal21 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 0Absent 3

Romania33 MEPs

For 4Against 18Abstain 7Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 1Against 8Abstain 5Absent 1

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 2Against 7Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 28Against 30Abstain 0Absent 2

Sweden21 MEPs

For 11Against 10Abstain 0Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

Loading individual positions…