Directorate General for Interpretation DG SCIC

1. Directorate General forInterpretation DG SCIC Add picture here

2. What does DG SCIC do? • Provides quality interpretation for meetings in all 23 EU languages • Organises conferences for Commission DGs and others • Manages the Commission's meeting rooms and their technical installations

3. Institutions and bodies served by DG Interpretation • Commission • Council • Economic & Social Committee • Committee of the Regions • E.I.B. • Agencies & Foundations

4. Staff • Approx. 850 in all – 600 staff interpreters, 250 admin staff • Largest interpreting service in the world • In 2011 : • 150,000 interpreter days • About 60 meetings a day • 700-800 interpreters a day

5. Number crunching • Total operating costs for 2011: • € 130 million • Cost as percentage of the EC budget: • 0.1% (of € 126.5 billion)

6. Languages in EU and UN • In UN 6 working and official languages • In EU 23 Working and official languages (plus Croatian now for some meetings). • First Council Regulation 1/58:

7. Article 1 • "The official languages and the working languages of the institutions of the Union shall be Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovene, Slovak, Spanish and Swedish." • Council Regulation No. 1 of 15 April 1958 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community, as amended.

8. Multilingualism in the EU since 1958 • First Council Regulation 1/58 states the official and working languages are those of the Member States • Nice Charter of Fundamental Rights 2000 endorses EU’s respect for "cultural, religious and linguistic diversity"

9. EU and UN policy: commitment to multilingualism CommissionerAndroullaVassiliou

10. DG Interpretation • The Director General – Marco Benedetti

11. The cost of multilingualism • Before 1 May 2004, €2 per citizen per year • After May 2004, €2.50 – from price of a coffee to that of a cappuccino • Interpreting costs: €0.50 per citizen per year

12. A conference interpreter is: • A communicator • Inquisitive • Well informed with a good general knowledge • A quick thinker And as well as languages, has: • Stamina • Flexibility, and sometimes... • A common language and identity with the delegates

13. Basic Needs What does this require? -’active listening’. -ability to prioritise information. -public speaking skills. -empathy: understanding someone else , and their intended message. - finding the right register and tone. What is an interpreter? -someone who analyses. -someone who communicates. -someone who knows his/her mother tongue. -a linguist and a cultural interface. -a trained professional with good general knowledge.

15. An interpreter is expected to be: • In the background • Convincing • Interesting and interested • A gifted communicator who understands and uses the correct jargon, is familiar with all subjects, knows acronyms • A robot who can interpret accurately numbers, read texts, often from fast speakers

16. Interpreters can be: • Officials who have passed the inter-institutional open competition (for European Commission, European Parliament and European Court of Justice) • Freelance – who have passed the inter-institutional accreditation test. 3000 on list, recruited on daily basis.

17. Information to interpreters • SCIC Intranet • SCIC News • Crystal voice mail • Regular Unit meetings – For meeting preparation: • Documentation and background material • Briefings

18. Where might interpreters work? • For Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron, at a fireside chat or informal lunch • 1 or 2 interpreters in consec, 3-4 sim • A Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs: 27 Ministers : 23 EU languages sim 70 interpreters – a formal setting

19. Press Conference

20. Council of Ministers

21. Sample of an EU interpreter’s week Monday Meeting on fisheries Tuesday Press Conference by President Barroso Wednesday Teaching student interpreters on a "top-up" or "integration" course. Evening train to London. Thursday EMEA Board Meeting, return to Brussels Friday Czech language course

22. You witness historic moments… Commission President Jacques Delors with US President Bill Clinton

23. Jacques Delors with John Paul II

25. What the EU institutions do to help Indirect training assistance by DG SCIC and EP • SCIC sends trainers to teach in Universities • SCIC receives students – 600 per year, with EP • SCIC and EP participate in university exams

26. Other forms of assistance • Subsidies to universities - teaching less known languages • Student bursaries - paid to individuals accepted for a post-graduate interpreting course, up to €3,000

27. Pros and Cons of Interpreting • Cons • Too much variety - no dossier • Little change in the job • Can feel uncreative • Your work depends on the speaker • Too much travelling • “I can say that better” Pros • Communicating - helping people with no common language to talk • Team work • Travelling • Being at the heart of the matter • Variety of subjects • Chance to learn more

28. How to Apply • Open Competition: http://europa.eu/epso • EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) • Freelance Test: http://europa.eu/interpretation/accreditation_en.htm • After a couple year’s experience, monitor DG SCIC’s website for notices re Temporary Agent contracts • Write to the relevant HOU as well, if you wish!

29. DG SCIC on the Internet Check for more information on: http://www.facebook.com/interpretingforeurope http://www.youtube.com/user/DGInterpretation http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/scic/become-an-interpreter/