← 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 172753Source: 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+10 / 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, PfE, ECR, Renew, Greens-EFA and Left voted mostly in favour, while NI voted mostly against. ESN mostly abstained. The motion was adopted by a comfortable margin (581 for, 41 against, 57 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

581

Against

Abstain

Margin of victory

540 votes

Turnout (cast)

679

Absent

Participation rate

94.3%

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

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 172Against 1Abstain 0Absent 12

S&D135 MEPs

For 129Against 3Abstain 0Absent 3

PfE81 MEPs

For 48Against 11Abstain 18Absent 4

ECR82 MEPs

For 72Against 2Abstain 0Absent 8

Renew79 MEPs

For 70Against 3Abstain 0Absent 6

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 51Against 0Abstain 0Absent 2

The Left45 MEPs

For 29Against 3Abstain 10Absent 3

NI30 MEPs

For 4Against 16Abstain 9Absent 1

ESN26 MEPs

For 3Against 1Abstain 20Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

France75
Germany70
Spain57
Italy54
Poland50

Most against

Malta3

Divided delegations

Malta
Slovakia

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 13Against 5Abstain 0Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 17Against 0Abstain 3Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 11Against 0Abstain 5Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 11Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 5Against 0Abstain 1Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 17Against 3Abstain 1Absent 0

Denmark15 MEPs

For 15Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 6Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 14Against 1Abstain 0Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 75Against 2Abstain 0Absent 5

Germany96 MEPs

For 70Against 8Abstain 14Absent 4

Greece21 MEPs

For 15Against 3Abstain 1Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 11Absent 1

Ireland14 MEPs

For 10Against 3Abstain 1Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 54Against 8Abstain 8Absent 6

Latvia9 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 1Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 5Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 2Against 3Abstain 0Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 25Against 0Abstain 5Absent 1

Poland53 MEPs

For 50Against 0Abstain 1Absent 2

Portugal21 MEPs

For 17Against 0Abstain 0Absent 4

Romania33 MEPs

For 29Against 0Abstain 0Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 7Against 4Abstain 4Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 57Against 0Abstain 1Absent 2

Sweden21 MEPs

For 20Against 1Abstain 0Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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