← 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 172804Source: 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”. PfE, Left and NI voted mostly in favour, while EPP, S&D, ECR, Renew and Greens-EFA voted mostly against. ESN mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a comfortable margin (122 for, 502 against, 47 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

122

Against

502

Abstain

Margin of victory

380 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 4Against 169Abstain 1Absent 11

S&D135 MEPs

For 7Against 125Abstain 0Absent 3

PfE81 MEPs

For 46Against 18Abstain 11Absent 6

ECR82 MEPs

For 4Against 66Abstain 4Absent 8

Renew79 MEPs

For 2Against 68Abstain 2Absent 7

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 5Against 45Abstain 1Absent 2

The Left45 MEPs

For 31Against 6Abstain 3Absent 5

NI30 MEPs

For 18Against 1Abstain 10Absent 1

ESN26 MEPs

For 2Against 3Abstain 15Absent 6

Country angle

Most in favour

France45
Slovakia7
Malta3

Most against

Germany68
Italy58
Poland46
Spain43
Netherlands28

Divided delegations

France
Malta
Slovakia

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 5Against 13Abstain 0Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 6Against 14Abstain 0Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 2Against 9Abstain 5Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 0Against 11Abstain 0Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 1Against 4Abstain 1Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 1Against 17Abstain 3Absent 0

Denmark15 MEPs

For 1Against 14Abstain 0Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 0Against 6Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 1Against 14Abstain 0Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 45Against 28Abstain 2Absent 7

Germany96 MEPs

For 11Against 68Abstain 10Absent 7

Greece21 MEPs

For 5Against 11Abstain 3Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 0Against 9Abstain 11Absent 1

Ireland14 MEPs

For 1Against 9Abstain 3Absent 1

Italy76 MEPs

For 11Against 58Abstain 1Absent 6

Latvia9 MEPs

For 1Against 7Abstain 1Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 0Against 9Abstain 1Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 0Against 5Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 0Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 2Against 28Abstain 0Absent 1

Poland53 MEPs

For 2Against 46Abstain 1Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 2Against 16Abstain 0Absent 3

Romania33 MEPs

For 1Against 25Abstain 2Absent 5

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 7Against 7Abstain 1Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 1Against 8Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 13Against 43Abstain 2Absent 2

Sweden21 MEPs

For 0Against 21Abstain 0Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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