The cost of translation in Brussels

The European member of parliament Alexander Stubb presented a report this week on the "expense of interpretation in the European Parliament". For Paul Geudens, this document " shows once again the large sums wasted by the European Union. In 2003, Europe spent a billion euros on translations. ... In itself it is not such a surprise for an institution that counts 20 official languages. Cultural diversity costs money. English, as a European working language would render more efficient the functioning and save money. But do we want it? Manifestly not. In fact, the waste pinned down in the report is not generated so much by multilingualism of the EU as by the nonchalance of civil servants and delegates. Over 25 million euros have been spent for nothing [in 2003] because of useless reservations that lead well-paid translators to spend hours and even days twiddling their thumbs."

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