Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union: scope of services

The Committee on Budgets unanimously adopted the report by Mrs Diemut THEATO (PPE, D) amending Regulation No 2965/94 setting up a Translation Centre in Luxembourg. In this respect it should be recalled that Parliament had adopted two reports by Mrs THEATO (September and November 1994), but that the Council had failed to take these into account. In the opinion of the rapporteur, the structure of the Centre as provided for by the Council Regulation of November 1994 was ineffective and would offer the translation services of all EU institutions and bodies no prospect of proper interinstitutional collaboration for reducing costs and duplicated effort. It was for this reason that the Committee on Budgets wished to adopt a new approach and why Parliament, as a branch of the budgetary authority, considered that it could not release appropriations for the implementation of a project which was " so inadequate". In the amendments which it had adopted, the Budget Committee recalled the need for interinstitutional collaboration and stressed that it was necessary to avoid "such things as the development of a parallel structure of collaboration between the translation services" of the various institutions. The Committee pointed out that the Translation Centre, which will be involved as a member by right in the work of the Interinstitutional Translation Committee, would be able to conclude collaboration agreements with the translation services of the various institutions and bodies on the basis of reciprocity. As far as the financing of the Translation Centre was concerned, in addition to the possibility of a contribution from the Community budget, and during the start-up period which would not exceed three years, the Centre would receive flat-rate payments from the budgets of the bodies and institutions for which it operated. This contribution, which would be paid at the beginning of the year, would be adjustable as a function of the work actually undertaken. �