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Languages in Action Translating for the European Commission

Learn about the importance of translation for the EU, how translation is organized at the European Commission, and the qualities needed by translators. Explore job opportunities and the recruitment process. Available in English.

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Languages in Action Translating for the European Commission

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  1. Languages in ActionTranslating for the European Commission Fiona Graham, EN Department, DG Translation

  2. Outline • Why does the EU need translation? (2-7) • How is translation organised at the European Commission? (8-11) • What qualities do translators need? (12-14) • What opportunities can we offer? (15-22)

  3. Why? The legal basis Treaty on the Functioning of the European UnionCitizens can use any EU official language in their contacts with EU bodies. Council Regulation No 1/58 Legislation must be draftedin the official languages.

  4. Types of languages • 23 official/working/Treaty languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian Danish, Dutch, English, German, Swedish French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian Greek, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese • 3 procedural languages: English, French, German • Additional languages: Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Basque, Catalan and Galician

  5. Linguists in the EU Parliament Council Economic &Social Committee Committee of the Regions European Central Bank Court of Justice Translation Centre Court of Auditors Translators: about 4300 Interpreters:about 1000

  6. Scenario 1: German asks Commission to expedite visa procedure for Russian relative

  7. Scenario 2 • Denmark incentivises wind park construction • The Commission looks into competition policy implications

  8. How translation is organised at the Commission DG Translation: about 2500 translators and support staff 50% in Brussels 50% in Luxembourg Field Offices in member countries 23 23 language departments

  9. Over 2 million pages translated in 2011 • Growth in the number of translated pages 2000-2011

  10. Terminology IATE (public) EUR-Lex (public) DGT Vista Quest Metasearch Electronic dictionaries, glossaries, search engines, Wikipedia, etc. Translation tools Translation memories,Euramis Speech recognition Machine translation Electronic translation tools

  11. Machine Translation: MT@EC Things have moved on since ‘Les agriculteursvis-à-vis de la politique agricole commune’ came out as ‘Farmerslivetoscrewthe Common Agricultural Policy’ !

  12. Recruitment criteria You must be an EU citizen You must hold a full university degree in languages or another field (minimum BA) No professional experience is required (though it’s helpful)

  13. Knowledge of languages • Perfect commandof English • Excellent knowledge of German or French (first source language) • Excellent knowledge of a second sourcelanguage from among the EU’s official languages

  14. Other skills • People with non-language degrees please apply! • Translator profile and skills needed: seeec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/workwithus/staff/profile

  15. Job opportunities • Permanent job(EU civil servant) • Contract staff • External contractor(freelance) • Trainee

  16. Recruitment competitionsfor EU officials Publication: • Official Journal of the European Union (C edition) • EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) website www.eu-careers.eu Selectionprocedure: 5 to 9 months

  17. The competition process Apply online (July for translators) Pre-selection test (numerical, verbal & abstract reasoning) Translation tests, group exercise, structured interview, oral presentation

  18. What can the Commission offer? Varied and challenging work Scope to shape your own career in the Commission Excellent language learning opportunities Multicultural environment €4500/month starting salary Job security Good leave entitlement Flexible working-time arrangements

  19. Contract staff • Special calls for contract staff • For more information, check regularly: ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/workwithus

  20. Freelance contractors • The only way: respond to a call for tenders and have your bid accepted • Calls for tenders for translation services are published in the Official Journal and on our website ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/workwithus/contractor

  21. Traineeships • Duration: 5 months • Two rounds per year, starting in March and October • For university graduates only • For EU citizens – but a quota for other countries’ nationals • Competence: ability to translate from two EU languages into your main language • Monthly grant

  22. Thank you for your attention! Fiona.Graham@ec.europa.eu

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