← 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 172809Source: 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+7 / 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”. Left and NI voted mostly in favour, while EPP, S&D, PfE, ECR, Renew and Greens-EFA voted mostly against. ESN mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a comfortable margin (54 for, 569 against, 44 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

Against

569

Abstain

Margin of victory

515 votes

Turnout (cast)

667

Absent

Participation rate

92.6%

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

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 0Against 173Abstain 0Absent 12

S&D135 MEPs

For 4Against 125Abstain 1Absent 5

PfE81 MEPs

For 0Against 66Abstain 11Absent 4

ECR82 MEPs

For 0Against 73Abstain 1Absent 8

Renew79 MEPs

For 1Against 71Abstain 0Absent 7

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 3Against 42Abstain 6Absent 2

The Left45 MEPs

For 24Against 7Abstain 3Absent 11

NI30 MEPs

For 21Against 4Abstain 3Absent 2

ESN26 MEPs

For 0Against 5Abstain 19Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

Malta3

Most against

France68
Germany67
Italy58
Poland50
Spain49

Divided delegations

Malta
Slovakia

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 0Against 12Abstain 5Absent 3

Belgium22 MEPs

For 2Against 16Abstain 1Absent 3

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 1Against 12Abstain 3Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 0Against 11Abstain 0Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 1Against 4Abstain 1Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 3Against 10Abstain 8Absent 0

Denmark15 MEPs

For 0Against 15Abstain 0Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 0Against 6Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 0Against 15Abstain 0Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 0Against 68Abstain 0Absent 14

Germany96 MEPs

For 12Against 67Abstain 11Absent 6

Greece21 MEPs

For 3Against 11Abstain 4Absent 3

Hungary21 MEPs

For 0Against 19Abstain 1Absent 1

Ireland14 MEPs

For 4Against 10Abstain 0Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 11Against 58Abstain 1Absent 6

Latvia9 MEPs

For 0Against 9Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 0Against 9Abstain 1Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 1Against 4Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 0Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 0Against 30Abstain 0Absent 1

Poland53 MEPs

For 0Against 50Abstain 1Absent 2

Portugal21 MEPs

For 2Against 18Abstain 0Absent 1

Romania33 MEPs

For 1Against 28Abstain 0Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 6Against 7Abstain 2Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 0Against 8Abstain 1Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 4Against 49Abstain 4Absent 3

Sweden21 MEPs

For 0Against 21Abstain 0Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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