DG Translation is the domain leader for all translation-related work in the European Commission. It provides high-quality, faithful and precise translations in all EU official languages and in other languages as needed.
All language versions of EU laws are equally valid, with the same legal effect, so the Commission relies on accurate translations delivered on time.
Our translation work is demand-driven, according to the Commission’s political priorities. It has grown in recent years as the Commission has had to respond promptly to new challenges.
The 2016 Communication on Translation sets out which documents must be translated, and into how many languages. DG Translation uses this to plan work efficiently and manage resources. At the same time, we continue to adapt our working methods to keep pace with demand while maintaining the high quality required for EU legislation and other Commission work.
What we translate
DG Translation works on documents related to EU law, including
- proposals for regulations, directives, decisions and recommendations
- international agreements
- implementing and delegated acts
- correcting acts.
We also translate
- replies to written and oral questions from the European Parliament
- speeches, press releases and policy statements
- guidelines, leaflets, booklets, handbooks and studies
- minutes, agendas and newsletters
- correspondence with EU countries, EU citizens and organisations
- calls for tender, proposals and expressions of interest
- technical studies and financial reports.
Using technology in the translation process
Our translators use a wide range of tools and technologies.
- Translation memories
Since 1997, we have had a computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool that enables our translators to reuse their translations and share them with colleagues in real time via translation memories.
Translators can automatically retrieve identical or similar passages in previously translated documents and incorporate them into their own translations.
As Commission documents are often based on previous texts or existing legislation, being able to retrieve and reuse previously translated passages enables us to work more efficiently. It also helps to make terminology consistent – a crucial consideration for legislative texts.
- Euramis
We store our translations in Euramis, the European Advanced Multilingual Information System developed by the Commission.
Euramis provides a range of language processing services for all EU institutions and bodies. It works on a shared platform, linking the various translation and workflow tools.
One of its key features is “retrieval”. Whenever a translation request is accepted, the original document is automatically sent to Euramis. Any previous translations in any supported language combination are then extracted for reuse.
Translators use these previous translations to do their work in the CAT tool. Once the translation is complete, it is automatically uploaded to Euramis for future reuse.
But Euramis is not used only by translators. The high-quality linguistic data built up over the last 30 years also serves as the basis for training our machine translation system – eTranslation.
- Machine translation
The European Commission has developed its own machine translation service, eTranslation. It is used by EU staff and other eligible users to produce raw machine translations. Our translators can also use machine translation results as an optional resource.
- Terminology tools
IATE (Interactive Terminology for Europe) is an interinstitutional terminology database that is available not only to EU staff, but also to the general public.
Anyone can access information about terms in all EU official languages, along with Latin terms (used in scientific and legal contexts, for example). Terminology information for non-EU languages is only available to EU staff.
IATE contains terminology from all the EU’s fields of activity. The content of the database is created and updated by translators and terminologists across all the EU institutions.
To prepare terminology data, DG Translation terminologists use terminology extraction tools, termbases and AI.
- Workflow tools
DG Translation also uses workflow tools to manage the logistics of a translation service producing more than2 million pages a year.
These tools can track a document from the moment a translation is requested, right up to delivery of the end product in all the required languages.
They are also used to monitor production over time and to compile production-related statistics.
Outsourcing
Whenever needed, we outsource translation work to cater for demand that exceeds our in-house capacity.
DG Translation periodically launches open calls for tender, published in the EU’s Official Journal and posted on the Europa website. Tenders can be submitted by individuals (via a joint submission), organisations and other groups of economic operators. Those selected conclude a framework contract with the Commission.
Any EU document can be translated by contractors, except for certain particularly sensitive, confidential or urgent texts. The translations provided by contractors are checked for quality and evaluated by in-house staff.
Tenders and contracts
Translation tenders, expressions of interest and contractor information