Parliament calls for EU law defining rape through the lack of consent
Official title: Belang van op instemming gebaseerde wetgeving inzake verkrachting in de EU
Status: Parliament has approved this proposal. (parliament: ‘Adopted’)
In plain language
- The European Parliament is calling for an EU law that defines rape as any sexual act without voluntary consent, even if no physical violence was used.
- This affects victims of sexual violence, police forces, justice professionals, and national governments across all EU Member States.
- In practice, you would receive equal protection throughout the EU, and victims would no longer need to prove physical resistance.
Automatically summarised (gemini-3.8-flash). AI can make mistakes: if in doubt, read the official text.
From proposal to law
- Submitted 28 April 2026
- Approved by parliament 28 April 2026
- Signed by the Parliament and the Council not yet
- Published in the Official Journal of the EU not yet
- In force not yet
After the vote, the government (or, for a European law, the Council) still has to sign the proposal. Then it appears in the official journal. This usually takes a few weeks; we check every day.
How parliament voted
Passed on 28 April 2026447 for · 160 against · 43 abstention(s)
In the European Parliament, a parliamentary group is a group of MEPs from like-minded parties in different countries. For each group, you can see how many members voted for or against, or abstained.
- For
- Against
- Abstain
- Dot: colour of the group
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EPP (Christian Democrats) Divided
146 for · 6 against · 11 abstentions
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S&D (Social Democrats) Voted for
125 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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Patriots for Europe Divided
0 for · 63 against · 13 abstentions
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ECR (Conservatives) Divided
4 for · 60 against · 10 abstentions
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Renew (Liberals) Voted for
70 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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Greens/EFA Voted for
46 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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The Left Divided
42 for · 0 against · 1 abstention
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Non-attached Divided
14 for · 7 against · 7 abstentions
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Europe of Sovereign Nations Divided
0 for · 24 against · 1 abstention
How MEPs voted, by country
Each country elects its own MEPs. Here you can see how the members from each country voted, regardless of their group.
🇩🇪 MEPs from Germany
Majority in favour73 for · 15 against · 3 abstentions
See all countries
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🇦🇹 Austria
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🇧🇪 Belgium
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🇧🇬 Bulgaria
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🇭🇷 Croatia
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🇨🇾 Cyprus
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🇨🇿 Czechia
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🇩🇰 Denmark
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🇪🇪 Estonia
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🇫🇮 Finland
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🇫🇷 France
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🇩🇪 Germany
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🇬🇷 Greece
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🇭🇺 Hungary
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🇮🇪 Ireland
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🇮🇹 Italy
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🇱🇻 Latvia
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🇱🇹 Lithuania
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🇱🇺 Luxembourg
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🇲🇹 Malta
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🇳🇱 Netherlands
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🇵🇱 Poland
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🇵🇹 Portugal
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🇷🇴 Romania
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🇸🇰 Slovakia
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🇸🇮 Slovenia
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🇪🇸 Spain
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🇸🇪 Sweden
Figures: for / against / abstention.