← Votes·2026-03-11

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026

Social Affairs64%★

Confidence: 64%

Assigned by: rule-based classifier

Evidence:

title/description contains "employment"

Reviewed: no

Methodology: topic-rules-v0.1

View all votes on Social Affairs →

Economy & Finance63%

Confidence: 63%

Assigned by: rule-based classifier

Evidence:

title/description contains "economic policy"

Reviewed: no

Methodology: topic-rules-v0.1

View all votes on Economy & Finance →

Vote ID 188614Source: official EP roll-call records

Official roll-call results (EP minutes) ↗

/ 100

Importance Score

Medium importance

Why this vote stands out:

✓Strong political group division
✓Some national delegation divergence
✓Very close result
✓High participation
✓Many MEPs voted against their group

Show full breakdown

Topic importance+6 / 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+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 “European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026”. S&D, Renew, PfE, Left and NI voted mostly in favour, while EPP, ECR and ESN voted mostly against. Greens-EFA mostly abstained. The motion was rejected by a narrow margin (267 for, 278 against, 88 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

278

Abstain

Margin of victory

11 votes

Turnout (cast)

633

Absent

Participation rate

88.2%

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

Close vote analysis

The margin was 11 votes. 85 MEPs did not vote.

Could absences have changed the outcome? The number of absent MEPs (85) was larger than the 11-vote margin, so absences were numerically significant.

Groups whose absences exceeded the margin

PfEhad 21 absent MEPs (margin was 11)
EPPhad 20 absent MEPs (margin was 11)
S&Dhad 16 absent MEPs (margin was 11)

Countries whose absences exceeded the margin

France (22 absent)Spain (13 absent)Hungary (12 absent)

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

EPP184 MEPs

For 1Against 162Abstain 1Absent 20

S&D135 MEPs

For 119Against 0Abstain 0Absent 16

ECR82 MEPs

For 1Against 51Abstain 26Absent 4

Renew78 MEPs

For 44Against 22Abstain 4Absent 8

PfE84 MEPs

For 31Against 18Abstain 14Absent 21

Greens/EFA53 MEPs

For 9Against 0Abstain 38Absent 6

The Left45 MEPs

For 42Against 0Abstain 0Absent 3

NI29 MEPs

For 18Against 5Abstain 2Absent 4

ESN27 MEPs

For 1Against 20Abstain 3Absent 3

Country angle

Most in favour

France46
Italy33
Portugal12
Belgium9
Greece9

Most against

Germany51
Poland44
Spain26
Netherlands16
Romania16

Divided delegations

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Latvia

Full breakdown by all countries

Austria20 MEPs

For 7Against 10Abstain 2Absent 1

Belgium22 MEPs

For 9Against 8Abstain 4Absent 1

Bulgaria17 MEPs

For 6Against 9Abstain 0Absent 2

Croatia12 MEPs

For 5Against 6Abstain 0Absent 1

Cyprus6 MEPs

For 4Against 0Abstain 0Absent 2

Czech Republic21 MEPs

For 3Against 9Abstain 7Absent 2

Denmark15 MEPs

For 7Against 5Abstain 3Absent 0

Estonia7 MEPs

For 2Against 4Abstain 0Absent 1

Finland15 MEPs

For 5Against 7Abstain 3Absent 0

France81 MEPs

For 46Against 10Abstain 3Absent 22

Germany95 MEPs

For 25Against 51Abstain 15Absent 4

Greece21 MEPs

For 9Against 8Abstain 2Absent 2

Hungary21 MEPs

For 8Against 0Abstain 1Absent 12

Ireland14 MEPs

For 9Against 3Abstain 0Absent 2

Italy76 MEPs

For 33Against 9Abstain 31Absent 3

Latvia9 MEPs

For 3Against 5Abstain 1Absent 0

Lithuania11 MEPs

For 4Against 5Abstain 2Absent 0

Luxembourg6 MEPs

For 2Against 3Abstain 1Absent 0

Malta6 MEPs

For 3Against 2Abstain 0Absent 1

Netherlands31 MEPs

For 8Against 16Abstain 6Absent 1

Poland53 MEPs

For 4Against 44Abstain 1Absent 4

Portugal21 MEPs

For 12Against 7Abstain 1Absent 1

Romania33 MEPs

For 11Against 16Abstain 1Absent 5

Slovakia15 MEPs

For 9Against 3Abstain 1Absent 2

Slovenia9 MEPs

For 3Against 5Abstain 0Absent 1

Spain60 MEPs

For 21Against 26Abstain 0Absent 13

Sweden21 MEPs

For 9Against 7Abstain 3Absent 2

Individual MEP positions

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