← 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 172823Source: 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, Renew, ECR and Greens-EFA voted mostly in favour, while Left and NI voted mostly against. ESN mostly abstained. The motion was adopted by a comfortable margin (528 for, 75 against, 67 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

528

Against

Abstain

Margin of victory

453 votes

Turnout (cast)

670

Absent

Participation rate

93.1%

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

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 157Against 4Abstain 6Absent 18

S&D135 MEPs

For 119Against 3Abstain 8Absent 5

PfE81 MEPs

For 51Against 14Abstain 11Absent 5

Renew79 MEPs

For 72Against 2Abstain 0Absent 5

ECR82 MEPs

For 73Against 1Abstain 0Absent 8

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 44Against 6Abstain 1Absent 2

The Left45 MEPs

For 2Against 20Abstain 20Absent 3

NI30 MEPs

For 5Against 23Abstain 0Absent 2

ESN26 MEPs

For 3Against 1Abstain 20Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

France69
Germany66
Poland48
Italy47
Spain47

Most against

Malta3

Divided delegations

Austria
Czech Republic
Slovakia

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 4Against 5Abstain 9Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 15Against 5Abstain 0Absent 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 10Against 10Abstain 1Absent 0

Denmark15 MEPs

For 14Against 0Abstain 1Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 6Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 13Against 0Abstain 2Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 69Against 0Abstain 8Absent 5

Germany96 MEPs

For 66Against 12Abstain 13Absent 5

Greece21 MEPs

For 13Against 3Abstain 3Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 12Against 0Abstain 1Absent 8

Ireland14 MEPs

For 8Against 3Abstain 3Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 47Against 12Abstain 10Absent 7

Latvia9 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 1Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 4Against 1Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 1Against 3Abstain 1Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 25Against 0Abstain 6Absent 0

Poland53 MEPs

For 48Against 1Abstain 0Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 18Against 2Abstain 0Absent 1

Romania33 MEPs

For 28Against 1Abstain 0Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 7Against 7Abstain 1Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 47Against 7Abstain 2Absent 4

Sweden21 MEPs

For 19Against 0Abstain 2Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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