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| Iratxe García Pérez | |
|---|---|
| Name | Iratxe García Pérez |
| Birth date | 1974-10-07 |
| Birth place | Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Party | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party |
| Otherparty | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats |
| Offices | Member of the European Parliament (2004–present); Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (2019–2023) |
Iratxe García Pérez Iratxe García Pérez is a Spanish politician and Member of the European Parliament. She has represented the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party in multiple terms and served as leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament. Her career spans municipal politics in Barakaldo, regional roles in the Basque Country and national prominence within Spanish Socialist Workers' Party structures and European institutions such as the European Parliament and the Party of European Socialists.
Born in Madrid and raised in Barakaldo, García studied at institutions in the Basque Country and completed higher education before entering public life. She attended vocational or higher studies linked to public administration and social policy, aligning her early academic formation with regional politics in Vizcaya and connections to trade union movements such as the General Union of Workers (Spain) and the Comisiones Obreras. Her formative years coincided with Spain’s transition after the Spanish transition to democracy and the expansion of European Union institutions, shaping her pro-European orientation.
García entered politics through local and regional offices in Barakaldo and the Basque Parliament sphere, affiliating with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and its youth organizations such as the Spanish Socialist Youth. She held municipal responsibilities in Barakaldo municipal government and served on party committees tied to regional representation in Euskadi and national coordination bodies of the PSOE. Her early trajectory also involved participation in policy networks connected to European Social Fund initiatives and collaboration with labor federations and cooperative networks such as the Mondragon Corporation environment. These roles provided a platform for selection as a candidate for the European Parliament in the 2004 elections.
Elected in 2004, García became part of delegations and committees within the European Parliament, notably the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. She served on delegations for relations with regions such as Central America and bodies including the Union for the Mediterranean. Over successive terms she engaged with legislation concerning social policy, gender equality, workers’ rights and digital rights, collaborating with groups such as the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and parties like the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Parti Socialiste (France), Partito Democratico (Italy), and the Labour Party (UK). Her committee work intersected with directives and files tied to the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Work-Life Balance Directive, and EU approaches to conjunctures involving the Eurozone crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
She advanced within parliamentary structures to vice-presidential and coordinative roles, representing Spanish and Iberian perspectives in cross-party initiatives with the European Green Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe at times of coalition-building, and the European People’s Party on intergroup negotiations. García also engaged with external relations through delegations for relationships with legislative counterparts in Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean Community.
In 2019 García was selected to lead the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, succeeding prior leadership amid a reconfiguration of the parliamentary balance after the 2019 elections. As leader she coordinated a large parliamentary group composed of national parties such as the PSOE, Partito Democratico (Italy), Social Democratic Party of Austria, Swedish Social Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Party of Portugal. Her tenure focused on negotiating group positions on the European Green Deal, the Next Generation EU recovery package, migration reform tied to the Common European Asylum System, and the EU budgetary process linked to the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021–2027. She acted as interlocutor with Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council and with leaders from member states including Spain, Germany, France, and Italy.
García has prioritized gender equality, workers’ rights, and social cohesion, advocating implementation of the Work-Life Balance Directive, enforcement mechanisms for the European Pillar of Social Rights, and strengthened protections under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. She has supported climate action aligned with the European Green Deal while emphasizing a just transition for regions affected by industrial change such as the Basque Country and Asturias. On external policy she has backed stronger EU engagement with Latin America and transatlantic cooperation with NATO partners and the United States. She has promoted measures addressing digital transformation that intersect with labor protections and consumer rights, engaging with files on platform work, data governance, and the Digital Services Act.
Her leadership and policy stances have drawn criticism from political opponents within the European Parliament and domestic adversaries in Spain, including members of the People's Party (Spain) and right-wing groups such as Vox (political party), over issues like migration, fiscal policy, and alliances with other parliamentary groups. Some labor activists and feminist organizations have contested compromises on pension reform or procedural trade-offs during coalition negotiations. Media outlets in Spain and Brussels have scrutinized expense claims, staffing decisions, and internal party disputes during her tenure, leading to political debate within the PSOE and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
García’s personal profile includes involvement in civic organizations, women’s networks such as the European Women’s Lobby, and engagement with municipal cultural institutions in Barakaldo and the Basque Country. She has received recognitions from labor and gender-equality NGOs and has been honored in parliamentary acknowledgments tied to social rights and equality initiatives. García maintains residence between Madrid and Brussels while participating in parliamentary, party, and constituency duties.
Category:Members of the European Parliament from Spain Category:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politicians Category:1974 births Category:Living people