Lingo-Star
EU Institutions Overburdened by Multilingualism
Of course, English is steadily gaining ground as it is more widely spoken as a second language than any other. In 2008, 72% of EU documents were originally composed in English, 12% in French and 3% in German. Almost 100% of the Union's linguistic needs would be covered if documents were only translated into English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. However, it would be a delicate subject to reduce the number of languages in the EU. All EU citizens have the right to address the European institutions in their official language even if they come from a small country such as Malta with a very limited number of speakers. Due to the EU's multilingualism policy, all official languages have equal status, which is unique in the world. Translation is part of democracy and transparency in the EU even though it is selective: all pieces of legislation and policy documents of major public importance have to be translated into all 27 official languages, while internal documents have to be written in English, French and German and incoming documents from any language have to be translated into one of these three languages so that they are widely understood within the Commission.
Nevertheless, the language services workload in the EU is enormous. There is already a trend to reduce the average length of a Commission document from 37 to 15 pages to make sure that translation is better and more effective. Still many people fear that the EU institutions are overburdened by multilingualism. Not only do the official institutions require translated documents, but also all the associated lobbying companies and consultancies. In 2007, around 1 billion Euros were spent on translation and interpreting by the EU institutions, which is around 1% of the EU budget. The costs have been rising continuously since then and the EU language policy has become increasingly controversial; the tower keeps rising.
EU Institutions Overburdened by Multilingualism
Of course, English is steadily gaining ground as it is more widely spoken as a second language than any other. In 2008, 72% of EU documents were originally composed in English, 12% in French and 3% in German. Almost 100% of the Union's linguistic needs would be covered if documents were only translated into English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. However, it would be a delicate subject to reduce the number of languages in the EU. All EU citizens have the right to address the European institutions in their official language even if they come from a small country such as Malta with a very limited number of speakers. Due to the EU's multilingualism policy, all official languages have equal status, which is unique in the world. Translation is part of democracy and transparency in the EU even though it is selective: all pieces of legislation and policy documents of major public importance have to be translated into all 27 official languages, while internal documents have to be written in English, French and German and incoming documents from any language have to be translated into one of these three languages so that they are widely understood within the Commission.
Nevertheless, the language services workload in the EU is enormous. There is already a trend to reduce the average length of a Commission document from 37 to 15 pages to make sure that translation is better and more effective. Still many people fear that the EU institutions are overburdened by multilingualism. Not only do the official institutions require translated documents, but also all the associated lobbying companies and consultancies. In 2007, around 1 billion Euros were spent on translation and interpreting by the EU institutions, which is around 1% of the EU budget. The costs have been rising continuously since then and the EU language policy has become increasingly controversial; the tower keeps rising.