← 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 172742Source: 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
✓Significant 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+7 / 10

Group division+12 / 15

Country division+12 / 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”. EPP, S&D, Renew, ECR and Greens-EFA voted mostly in favour, while Left and NI voted mostly against. PfE and ESN mostly abstained. The motion was adopted by a comfortable margin (523 for, 76 against, 72 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

523

Against

Abstain

Margin of victory

447 votes

Turnout (cast)

671

Absent

Participation rate

93.2%

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

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 171Against 1Abstain 0Absent 13

S&D135 MEPs

For 126Against 1Abstain 4Absent 4

PfE81 MEPs

For 33Against 10Abstain 35Absent 3

Renew79 MEPs

For 67Against 5Abstain 2Absent 5

ECR82 MEPs

For 72Against 0Abstain 1Absent 9

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 45Against 0Abstain 4Absent 4

The Left45 MEPs

For 3Against 35Abstain 3Absent 4

NI30 MEPs

For 3Against 22Abstain 4Absent 1

ESN26 MEPs

For 1Against 2Abstain 17Absent 6

Country angle

Most in favour

Germany64
Italy59
Spain50
Poland45
France35

Most against

Slovakia8

Divided delegations

Ireland
Slovakia

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 13Against 5Abstain 0Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 11Against 5Abstain 4Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 12Against 1Abstain 3Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 11Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 4Against 2Abstain 0Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 18Against 2Abstain 1Absent 0

Denmark15 MEPs

For 13Against 0Abstain 2Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 6Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 15Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 35Against 9Abstain 33Absent 5

Germany96 MEPs

For 64Against 13Abstain 10Absent 9

Greece21 MEPs

For 13Against 5Abstain 1Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 19Against 0Abstain 1Absent 1

Ireland14 MEPs

For 9Against 5Abstain 0Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 59Against 8Abstain 1Absent 8

Latvia9 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 1Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 4Against 1Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 2Against 0Abstain 3Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 24Against 6Abstain 1Absent 0

Poland53 MEPs

For 45Against 0Abstain 4Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 16Against 2Abstain 1Absent 2

Romania33 MEPs

For 28Against 0Abstain 1Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 7Against 8Abstain 0Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 8Against 0Abstain 1Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 50Against 4Abstain 2Absent 4

Sweden21 MEPs

For 19Against 0Abstain 2Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

Loading individual positions…