← 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 172833Source: official EP roll-call records

Official roll-call results (EP minutes) ↗

/ 100

Importance Score

High importance

Why this vote stands out:

✓High-interest topic: Defence
✓Strong political group division
✓Significant national delegation divergence
✓Very close result
✓High participation
✓Many MEPs voted against their group

Show full breakdown

Topic importance+15 / 15

Turnout+5 / 5

Vote type+0 / 25

Close vote+12 / 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”. S&D, PfE, Greens-EFA and Left voted mostly in favour, while EPP and Renew voted mostly against. ECR, NI and ESN mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a narrow margin (267 for, 280 against, 119 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. The outcome was close, which makes individual choices and absences especially consequential.

Result analysis

For

267

Against

280

Abstain

119

Margin of victory

13 votes

Turnout (cast)

666

Absent

Participation rate

92.5%

⚠️This was a close vote — the margin was small relative to the votes cast.

Close vote analysis

The margin was 13 votes. 54 MEPs did not vote.

Could absences have changed the outcome? The number of absent MEPs (54) was larger than the 13-vote margin, so absences were numerically significant.

Groups whose absences exceeded the margin

EPPhad 16 absent MEPs (margin was 13)

Absences larger than the margin are numerically significant but do NOT imply the outcome would have changed. That would require modelling how each absent member would have voted, which this analysis does not do.

By political group

EPP185 MEPs

For 8Against 161Abstain 0Absent 16

S&D135 MEPs

For 128Against 2Abstain 0Absent 5

ECR82 MEPs

For 1Against 13Abstain 61Absent 7

PfE81 MEPs

For 37Against 16Abstain 22Absent 6

Renew79 MEPs

For 4Against 69Abstain 0Absent 6

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 47Against 0Abstain 0Absent 6

The Left45 MEPs

For 29Against 9Abstain 3Absent 4

NI30 MEPs

For 11Against 3Abstain 14Absent 2

ESN26 MEPs

For 0Against 5Abstain 19Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

France54
Italy25
Spain25
Portugal15
Belgium9

Most against

Germany39
Poland22
Netherlands19
Romania14
Sweden11

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Germany

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 7Against 6Abstain 5Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 9Against 8Abstain 3Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 4Against 7Abstain 5Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 3Against 7Abstain 0Absent 2

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 3Against 3Abstain 0Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 4Against 10Abstain 6Absent 1

Denmark15 MEPs

For 8Against 7Abstain 0Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 2Against 3Abstain 1Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 6Against 8Abstain 0Absent 1

France82 MEPs

For 54Against 21Abstain 0Absent 7

Germany96 MEPs

For 34Against 39Abstain 17Absent 6

Greece21 MEPs

For 6Against 8Abstain 4Absent 3

Hungary21 MEPs

For 2Against 7Abstain 11Absent 1

Ireland14 MEPs

For 5Against 9Abstain 0Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 25Against 24Abstain 21Absent 6

Latvia9 MEPs

For 3Against 3Abstain 3Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 3Against 5Abstain 2Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 2Against 2Abstain 1Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 0Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 11Against 19Abstain 1Absent 0

Poland53 MEPs

For 6Against 22Abstain 21Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 15Against 2Abstain 0Absent 4

Romania33 MEPs

For 10Against 14Abstain 5Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 5Against 7Abstain 2Absent 1

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 2Against 5Abstain 0Absent 2

Spain60 MEPs

For 25Against 21Abstain 11Absent 3

Sweden21 MEPs

For 10Against 11Abstain 0Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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