← Votes·2025-05-07

Discharge 2023: EU general budget – European Ombudsman

Budget87%★

Confidence: 87%

Assigned by: rule-based classifier

Evidence:

title/description contains "budget"
title/description contains "discharge"

Reviewed: yes

Methodology: topic-rules-v0.1

View all votes on Budget →

Vote ID 175708Source: official EP roll-call records

Official roll-call results (EP minutes) ↗

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Importance Score

Key vote

Why this vote stands out:

✓Resolution / budget vote
✓Budget-related
✓High-interest topic: Budget
✓Strong political group division
✓Some national delegation divergence
✓Close result
✓High participation
✓Some MEPs voted against their group

Show full breakdown

Topic importance+12 / 15

Turnout+5 / 5

Vote type+15 / 25

Close vote+10 / 15

Legislative+12 / 15

Rebel votes+4 / 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 “Discharge 2023: EU general budget – European Ombudsman”. PfE, ECR, Left, ESN and NI voted mostly in favour, while EPP, Renew and Greens-EFA voted mostly against. S&D mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a narrow margin (246 for, 267 against, 139 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

246

Against

267

Abstain

139

Margin of victory

21 votes

Turnout (cast)

652

Absent

Participation rate

90.6%

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

Close vote analysis

The margin was 21 votes. 68 MEPs did not vote.

Could absences have changed the outcome? The number of absent MEPs (68) was larger than the 21-vote margin, so absences were numerically significant.

Groups whose absences exceeded the margin

EPPhad 23 absent MEPs (margin was 21)

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 6Against 156Abstain 0Absent 23

S&D135 MEPs

For 2Against 1Abstain 122Absent 10

PfE81 MEPs

For 78Against 0Abstain 0Absent 3

ECR82 MEPs

For 77Against 0Abstain 0Absent 5

Renew79 MEPs

For 1Against 60Abstain 11Absent 7

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 0Against 48Abstain 1Absent 4

The Left45 MEPs

For 32Against 2Abstain 4Absent 7

ESN27 MEPs

For 24Against 0Abstain 0Absent 3

NI29 MEPs

For 22Against 0Abstain 1Absent 6

Country angle

Most in favour

France47
Italy39
Czech Republic15
Hungary11
Greece9

Most against

Germany41
Spain26
Poland23
Netherlands17
Romania14

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Germany
Greece
Latvia
Lithuania

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 6Against 8Abstain 5Absent 1

Belgium22 MEPs

For 6Against 7Abstain 4Absent 5

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 6Against 8Abstain 2Absent 1

Croatia12 MEPs

For 1Against 6Abstain 3Absent 2

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 1Absent 0

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 15Against 5Abstain 0Absent 1

Denmark15 MEPs

For 2Against 8Abstain 4Absent 1

Estonia7 MEPs

For 1Against 4Abstain 2Absent 0

Finland15 MEPs

For 4Against 8Abstain 1Absent 2

France82 MEPs

For 47Against 16Abstain 14Absent 5

Germany96 MEPs

For 23Against 41Abstain 20Absent 12

Greece21 MEPs

For 9Against 7Abstain 3Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 11Against 0Abstain 2Absent 8

Ireland14 MEPs

For 2Against 10Abstain 1Absent 1

Italy76 MEPs

For 39Against 13Abstain 20Absent 4

Latvia9 MEPs

For 4Against 3Abstain 1Absent 1

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 3Against 5Abstain 2Absent 1

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 1Against 2Abstain 2Absent 1

Malta6 MEPs

For 0Against 3Abstain 2Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 9Against 17Abstain 4Absent 1

Poland53 MEPs

For 22Against 23Abstain 3Absent 5

Portugal21 MEPs

For 3Against 8Abstain 7Absent 3

Romania33 MEPs

For 7Against 14Abstain 10Absent 2

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 8Against 6Abstain 0Absent 1

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 1Against 6Abstain 1Absent 1

Spain60 MEPs

For 10Against 26Abstain 18Absent 6

Sweden21 MEPs

For 3Against 11Abstain 7Absent 0

Individual MEP positions

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