Evelyn Regner (born 24 January 1966) is an Austrian lawyer and politician who has been serving as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

since 2009. She is a member of the

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

, part of the

Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist ...

and elected Vice-President of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...

Early life and education

Regner grew up in the second district of Vienna and went to school at Sigmund-Freud-Gymnasium. She graduated from gymnasium and went on to study law in Vienna and Salzburg. After obtaining her degree in law studies at the University of Salzburg and finishing up her clerkship, she first worked at Amnesty International as a refugee consultant during 1992-1993.

Early career

The following years, Regner worked as a lawyer at the Social Department of the

Austrian Trade Union Federation The Austrian Trade Union Federation or Austrian Federation of Trade Unions ( de: ''Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund'', abbreviated OeGB or ÖGB) is a labour union of employees. It is constituted as an association and is subdivided into seven ...

(ÖGB) before becoming the head of ÖGB's Brussels office at the permanent representation of Austria at the EU in 1999. From the time period of January 2009 until her election to the

she served as head of the department of EU and International Affairs of the Austrian Trade Union Federation. Further memberships that Regner has taken up in this time period were of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and of the Social Dialogue Committee. Moreover, she was a board member of the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

(ETUC), of the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union A trade union (labor union in Am ...

(ITUC) as well as the Trade Union and Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC). In July 2009, Regner was first elected a member of the European Parliament and has been representing the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) as well as the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the EU during the 7th, 8th and currently the 9th legislative term.

Political career

In national as well as European politics, Regner's main focus has always been on labour-related affairs, namely the improvement of workers' rights and the reduction of unemployment. Additionally, she is dedicating her work to arising matters of financial markets and inequality in the fields of gender politics, taxes and wealth.

Member of the European Parliament, 2009–present

Regner's functions during the 7th legislative term of the European Parliament included those of the vice-chairwoman of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), substitute member of the

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) is a committee of the European Parliament. It is responsible for issues of employment and social policy, including labour rights, social security, inclusion, free movement for workers and pensi ...

(EMPL), substitute member of the

Committee on Constitutional Affairs The Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) is a committee of the European Parliament dealing with institutional matters such as the Treaties of the European Union and the Parliament's rules of procedure. It is currently chaired by Antonio Taja ...

(AFCO), member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of the

Andean Community The Andean Community ( es, Comunidad Andina, CAN) is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact ...

and substitute member of the Delegation in Israel. In addition to her committee assignments, Regner was a member of the European Parliament’s Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members from 2012 until 2014. Regner's functions during the 8th legislative term of the European Parliament included those of the coordinator of the

Committee on Legal Affairs The Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities The main responsibilities of the committee are the interpretation and application of international and European law and the compliance of European U ...

for the S&D group, substitute member of the

as well as substitute member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). Further, she was a member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of the Andean Community, the Trade Union Intergroup, the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and a substitute member of the Delegation to the EU-Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee. Moreover, she has been elected a member of the special parliamentary committee on tax ruling (TAXE) in February 2015. In addition to her committee assignments, Regner is a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while ...

. After being re-elected in 2019, Regner has been elected chair of the

Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) is a committee of the European Parliament. Membership Chair Vice Chairs *Eugenia Rodríguez Palop *Sylwia Spurek * Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi * Robert Biedroń Members *Regina Bastos ...

(FEMM) and as such initiated th
European Gender Equality Week
Additionally, she is member of the Conference of Committee Chairs, member of the

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) is a committee of the European Parliament which is responsible for the regulation of financial services, the free movement of capital and payments, taxation and competition policies, oversight ...

, member of the

and substitute member of the Subcommittee on Tax Matters. Further, she is the Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with countries of South Asia, member of the Delegation for relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil, member of the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and substitute member of the Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee. In her role as Parliament negotiator on public country-by-country reporting (pCBCR), the European Parliament adopted a law which will compel large multinationals to financial transparency and publish in which countries they make their profits and where they pay their taxes. The new law includes the obligation for companies to publish how many full-time employees they have, their turnover and taxes paid, as well as all profits and losses they have in each country they operate in, inside the European Union and in

tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

s. In addition to her committee assignments, Regner is a member of the

European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights is an intergroup of the European Parliament's legislators which focuses on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons both inside and outside the European Union ...

Members
European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights. On 19 January 2022, Evelyn Regner was elected Vice-President of the

She is the first

SPÖ The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

politician to serve on the Presidency of the EU Parliament.

Political Position

Regner's main topics in the EU Parliament are: - Tax justice: fair taxes for multinational corporations and the fight against tax evasion and fraud - Social Europe: Europe-wide application of collective agreements, minimum social standards, minimum income schemes and the fight against wage and social dumping - Employment: Employee participation in corporations through the participation by trade unions in legislative negotiations in the EU and the formation of European Works Councils - Equality: Eliminate income inequality and improve the social and economic position of women in Europe

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regner, Evelyn 1966 births Living people Austrian socialist feminists Social Democratic Party of Austria MEPs MEPs for Austria 2009–2014 MEPs for Austria 2014–2019 MEPs for Austria 2019–2024 21st-century women MEPs for Austria