← 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 172862Source: 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+10 / 10

Group division+12 / 15

Country division+10 / 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 (118 for, 526 against, 36 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

118

Against

526

Abstain

Margin of victory

408 votes

Turnout (cast)

680

Absent

Participation rate

94.4%

✓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 128Abstain 1Absent 2

PfE81 MEPs

For 42Against 26Abstain 8Absent 5

ECR82 MEPs

For 1Against 73Abstain 1Absent 7

Renew79 MEPs

For 2Against 71Abstain 0Absent 6

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 7Against 43Abstain 1Absent 2

The Left45 MEPs

For 36Against 7Abstain 0Absent 2

NI30 MEPs

For 21Against 2Abstain 6Absent 1

ESN26 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 19Absent 2

Country angle

Most in favour

France37
Slovakia7
Malta3

Most against

Germany70
Italy51
Spain51
Poland45
Netherlands31

Divided delegations

Czech Republic
France
Greece
Malta
Slovakia

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 0Against 18Abstain 0Absent 2

Belgium22 MEPs

For 5Against 14Abstain 1Absent 2

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 0Against 11Abstain 5Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 0Against 11Abstain 0Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 1Against 4Abstain 1Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 5Against 9Abstain 6Absent 1

Denmark15 MEPs

For 3Against 12Abstain 0Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 0Against 6Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 0Against 15Abstain 0Absent 0

France82 MEPs

For 37Against 37Abstain 1Absent 7

Germany96 MEPs

For 12Against 70Abstain 10Absent 4

Greece21 MEPs

For 8Against 10Abstain 2Absent 1

Hungary21 MEPs

For 1Against 18Abstain 1Absent 1

Ireland14 MEPs

For 3Against 10Abstain 1Absent 0

Italy76 MEPs

For 19Against 51Abstain 1Absent 5

Latvia9 MEPs

For 0Against 8Abstain 1Absent 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 31Abstain 0Absent 0

Poland53 MEPs

For 2Against 45Abstain 3Absent 3

Portugal21 MEPs

For 4Against 15Abstain 0Absent 2

Romania33 MEPs

For 0Against 28Abstain 1Absent 4

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 7Against 7Abstain 1Absent 0

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 0Against 9Abstain 0Absent 0

Spain60 MEPs

For 7Against 51Abstain 0Absent 2

Sweden21 MEPs

For 0Against 21Abstain 0Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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