What translators do
- translate a wide range of documents, from EU legislation, policy papers and reports to legal, financial, scientific and technical texts
- revise translations produced by colleagues and external contractors
- adapt communication materials for different audiences and cultural contexts
- do terminology work to ensure legal certainty and clear, consistent communication
- contribute to DG Translation's initiatives to support the translation profession
- further develop language competences and digital skills over the course of their career
Documents translators work on
- EU law-making: 57%
- External communication, web content: 15%
- Official documents addressed to EU institutions & national parliaments: 14%
- Other official documents: 9%
- Incoming correspondence: 3%
- Consulting the public on EU policy: 2%
Tools translators use
- workflow and document management systems – to access, process and deliver translation requests
- computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools connected to Euramis (European Advanced Multilingual Information System), the interinstitutional translation memory database – enabling translators to retrieve previously translated segments for reuse
- eTranslation, the European Commission's machine translation service – one of the tools available to translators in our computer-assisted translation environment, alongside translation memories
- IATE (InterActive Terminology for Europe), the EU's multilingual terminology database
- EUR-Lex, the EU legislation database
- Legislative Observatory, the European Parliament's database for monitoring the EU decision-making process
- institutional document registers (European Commission, European Parliament, Council of the EU)
This page was last updated on 25 August 2026