EU Parliament makes cuts to language translation budget
As American lawmakers on this side of the pond consider raising taxes and cutting government spending to avoid a rapidly approaching fiscal cliff, European Union lawmakers on the other side of the pond have shown the way by approving a report by Stanimir Ilchev, a Bulgarian Liberal MEP, changing the procedural rules for the recording of plenary debates.
As of the next plenary, on 10 December, the Parliament will no longer be required to translate the session into all 23 official languages of the European Union, a process which has proved costly and can take up to four months.
The EU legislative will only record proceedings in their original language, while still being required to translate them following a request by a member state.
Ilchev rejected proposals to only translate the sessions into English, which he said could “appear linguistically unjust”.
But he said the move would not harm multilingualism, which is enshrined in the EU treaties. “Of course this principle is not in question and everyone can listen to our debates in plenary in their own language (through interpretation),” Ilchev said.
Further, the amended rules of procedure require the Parliament to broadcast all proceedings in real time on its website in all the active interpretation languages.
See Also
- Language translation is integral to multilingual proceedings like those held at the EU Parliament
Translation is the act of rewriting a document, changing it into another language. - Simultaneous interpretation is typically required in international conference settings
Simultaneous interpreting requires the ability to listen, process, and convey a translated message, all while listening to and comprehending the speaker. - EU Parliament makes cuts to translation budget
The European Parliament has agreed to cut part of its translation service, in a bid to shave its budget by some ?8.6 million per year.