"Finnish, Swedish or Maltese cannot be the only working languages of the institutions. However, everything does not need to be translated into all the official languages. For example, in the Committees of the Parliament, it is sufficient to have translations in languages used by the Members of the Committee in question. Other translations can be provided if requested", stated Stubb.
The translation costs of the Parliament, the Commission and the Council all together amounted to €511m in 2005. The report calls for more efficient means to evaluate productivity and costs, assess translation needs, manage translations, control their quality and increase inter-institutional cooperation.
"Awareness of translation costs is our duty towards the taxpayers", said Stubb. He also proposes replacing the translations of verbatim reports of Parliament's plenary sessions by an Internet service, from where it is already possible to follow recorded videos interpreted in all languages. "The use of the Internet is a must in our times and it can help us make substantial economies", Stubb said.
However, Stubb underlined in his report that multilinguism is one of EU's and Europe's main assets: "The EU's language services, including both translation and interpretation, amount to only less than one percent of the total costs of the EU. Not such a high price to pay for democracy and efficient cooperation", he recalled.
In autumn 2006, the European Parliament adopted Stubb's report on the interpretation costs of the EU.
For further information:
Alexander Stubb MEP, Tel: +32-476-555563
Antti Timonen , EPP-ED Press Service, Tel: +32-474-851831
|
|