Presentation

[opening words]

[slide – The European Union] [change slide]

Since the end of World War II, European countries have sought to deepen their
integration in pursuit of peace and economic growth.

Today, the EU is a powerful player on the world stage, but the complexity of its many
institutions can often confuse. Here’s a closer look at what the EU is and how it works.
[change slide]

What are the main institutions of the EU?

European integration began to take shape in the 1950s, but the modern union was
founded in 1992 with the Maastricht Treaty. The EU was given its current structure and
powers in 2007 with the Lisbon Treaty. Also, the same year On 1 January
2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union.
[change slide]

There are seven official EU institutions, which I am going to briefly present:

[change slide]

The European Council brings together EU leaders to set the EU's political
agenda. It represents the highest level of political cooperation between EU
countries. The current president of the Council is former Belgian Prime Minister
Charles Michel. (шарл мишел) [change slide]

The European Commission, the EU’s primary executive body, wields the most day-to-day
authority. It proposes laws, manages the budget, implements decisions, issues
regulations, and represents the EU around the world at summits(среща на най-високо
равнище), in negotiations, and in international organizations. The members of the
commission are appointed by the European Council and approved by the European
Parliament. The current commission is led by former German Minister of Defense -
Ursula von der Leyen. [change slide]

The European Parliament is the only directly elected EU body, with representatives
apportioned(разпределени) by each member state’s population. Unlike traditional
legislatures, it can’t propose legislation, but laws can’t pass without its approval.
[change slide] It also negotiates and approves the EU budget and oversees the
commission. Parliament is currently led by Maltese politician Roberta Metsola. [change slide]

The Council of the European Union, also known as the Council of Ministers, is a
second legislative branch whose approval is also needed for legislation to pass. This
council consists of the government ministers from all EU members.

The Court of Justice of the European Union is the EU’s highest judicial authority,
interpreting EU law and settling disputes.

The European Central Bank manages the euro for the nineteen countries that use the
currency and implements the EU’s monetary policy. It also helps regulate the EU
banking system.

The European Court of Auditors audits the EU budget, checking that funds are
properly spent and reporting any fraud to Parliament, the commission, and national
governments.

 These EU institutions form a complex web of powers and mutual oversight.

Now let’s take a look at the next part of the presentation – Why languages are important?
I’ll begin with this quote that I find really accurate. ………… [change slide]

Language is one of the most important parts of any culture. It is the way by which people
communicate with one another, build relationships, and create a sense of community. There
are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today, and each is unique in a number of
ways. Language is a vital part of human connection. Although all species have their
ways of communicating, humans are the only ones that have mastered cognitive
language communication. Language allows us to share our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with
others. It has the power to build societies, but also tear them down.

And now let’s move to the next part of my presentation which is the most related to our field
of study – Translation in the EP [change slide]
The EP have come a long way since 1958, when only four languages were used in the
institutions of the European Communities – Dutch, French, Italian and German. Today, the
number of official languages has increased to 24. [change slide]
The European Parliament produces translations of written documents in all 24 EU
languages, enabling communication with its citizens in their mother tongue. The translation
service meets strict quality standards within the tight deadlines imposed by parliamentary
procedures. Their goal is to build bridges between different languages and cultures.
The 24 official languages make a total of 552 possible combinations, since each language
can be translated into 23 others. As a general rule, translators translate into their main
language (mother tongue or equivalent). The translators typically have a perfect command of
their main language and sound foreign language skills in at least 2 other EU languages, but
not necessarily the professional background of a linguist. Many of the EU’s translators have
studied other subjects and come from very different professional backgrounds, which
contributes to much more appreciated expertise when translating texts on a wide variety of
subjects. For maximum efficiency, the translators use modern translation
technologies, such as computer-assisted translation, translation memories, machine
translation, terminology databases and other online resources. [change slide]
Translation
The European Parliament’s translation service enables multilingual written and electronic
communication in all official languages of the European Union. It has a crucial role in
ensuring the transparency of the legislative and budgetary process of the EU and in bringing
the EU closer to its citizens. The Directorate-General for Translation employs
approximately over 1100 staff, among them more than 600 translators, and is one of the
biggest employers of its kind in the world. [change slide]
Interpretation
The main task of the European Parliament’s interpreters is to render orally the speeches
given by members of the European Parliament faithfully and in real time into all the official
languages. Interpreting services are provided for all multilingual meetings organised by the
official bodies of the institution. [change slide]

The Translation service of the European Parliament has four departments called directorates:
two technical and resources departments, and two linguistic departments.
The Directorate for Translation - is made up of 𝟮𝟰 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘀, one for each of the
European Union’s official languages. Each language unit is further supported by a dedicated
𝗜𝗧 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺, and by a 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺, without which they could not function effectively or
efficiently.
Each language Unit works to provide high quality and value-added linguistic services in an
effective and timely manner. The 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 on procedural texts,
resolutions, amendments, agendas/minutes of meetings, and other official documents. They
work with an 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀, some of which
are home-grown.
Translation means much more than taking the words in a text in one language and putting
them into another. Increasingly, our language professionals are working on 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲
𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 to improve the clarity and readability of the Parliaments work with a view of 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀. [change slide]
Translation is moving rapidly towards an enhanced and broader role for professionals with
high-level intercultural and linguistic skills. Here are the key skills, knowledge and
competences required to become a translator:

 In-depth language knowledge and cultural awareness;

 Writing skills;
 IT skills;
 Creativity;
 Flexibility and adaptability;
 Attention to detail;
 Organisational skills;
 Analytical and research skills;
 General and specialised knowledge;
 Curiosity and willingness to learn. [change slide]

Conclusion

In no other institution are the professional requirements as demanding as in the

European Parliament. Texts on a huge variety of topics must often be translated to
extremely tight deadlines. They can also be legally complex and require rapid
understanding not only of the language used, but also of political intent and context.
Besides translation, translators are also involved in mentoring newcomers and
trainees, revising translations produced both in-house and externally, participating in
training programmes to keep up with the latest technological and professional
developments, and learning new languages to broaden the linguistic profile of their
respective language units.
[change slide - resources] [change to Tnx for watching]