← 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 172824Source: 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+15 / 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, Renew, ECR and Greens-EFA voted mostly in favour, while S&D and NI voted mostly against. PfE, Left and ESN mostly abstained. The motion was adopted by a comfortable margin (355 for, 155 against, 159 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

355

Against

155

Abstain

159

Margin of victory

200 votes

Turnout (cast)

669

Absent

Participation rate

92.9%

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

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 163Against 3Abstain 5Absent 14

S&D135 MEPs

For 15Against 99Abstain 15Absent 6

PfE81 MEPs

For 9Against 11Abstain 56Absent 5

Renew79 MEPs

For 68Against 4Abstain 1Absent 6

ECR82 MEPs

For 47Against 0Abstain 26Absent 9

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 44Against 5Abstain 2Absent 2

The Left45 MEPs

For 0Against 11Abstain 30Absent 4

NI30 MEPs

For 5Against 21Abstain 2Absent 2

ESN26 MEPs

For 2Against 0Abstain 21Absent 3

Country angle

Most in favour

Germany53
Poland46
Netherlands30
Romania19
Belgium14

Most against

Spain24
Austria10
Portugal9
Malta3

Divided delegations

Cyprus
Czech Republic
Greece
Portugal
Slovakia
Spain

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 4Against 10Abstain 4Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 14Against 4Abstain 2Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 9Against 2Abstain 4Absent 2

Croatia12 MEPs

For 8Against 2Abstain 1Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 1Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 9Against 9Abstain 2Absent 1

Denmark15 MEPs

For 13Against 0Abstain 2Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 6Against 0Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 10Against 2Abstain 3Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 24Against 0Abstain 52Absent 6

Germany96 MEPs

For 53Against 21Abstain 13Absent 9

Greece21 MEPs

For 9Against 5Abstain 5Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 6Against 2Abstain 11Absent 2

Ireland14 MEPs

For 8Against 3Abstain 3Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 7Against 30Abstain 32Absent 7

Latvia9 MEPs

For 7Against 1Abstain 1Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 8Against 1Abstain 1Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 4Against 1Abstain 0Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 1Against 3Abstain 1Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 30Against 1Abstain 0Absent 0

Poland53 MEPs

For 46Against 1Abstain 2Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 8Against 9Abstain 2Absent 2

Romania33 MEPs

For 19Against 10Abstain 0Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 7Against 5Abstain 2Absent 1

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 6Against 2Abstain 1Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 22Against 24Abstain 12Absent 2

Sweden21 MEPs

For 14Against 5Abstain 2Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

Loading individual positions…