María Jesús García

María Jesús García is a Professor at the University of Valencia specializing in Public Law and European Union Law. She holds the Jean Monnet Chair "Services of General Economic Interest in the framework of social and territorial integration" (2021-2025) and leads the Jean Monnet module "Citizens' integration into EU democracy" (2021-2025). Her research focuses on citizen participation in EU governance, services of general economic interest, and local government structures.

She earned her PhD in Law from the University of Valencia after completing her undergraduate degree in Law. Her academic work includes contributions to smart regulation frameworks, EU democratic systems, and territorial cohesion mechanisms. Recent publications address SGEI's role in social integration, EU environmental law post-Maastricht, and regional participation in EU decision-making.

García has received multiple scientific distinctions, including:

• Gabilex Prize (2023) for consumers' rights research
• Blas Infante Prize (2019) for participatory democracy studies
• Runner-up at C.E.F (2019) for European electoral systems analysis
• Local Government Studies prize (2010)
• Melchor Almagro Díaz Award (2012)

She has served as Visiting Fellow at Harvard University's Ash Center (2017) and The Open University School of Law (2014-2015). García acts as an expert evaluator for Horizon Europe work programs and has directed the collective work "European democracy and the single market: 30 years of the Maastricht Treaty" (Aranzadi, 2024).