Setting up a Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union

Parliament approved the Commission proposal subject to 12 amendments. These amendments aimed to: - reaffirm that Parliament, the Council and the Commission attached the greatest importance to the fact that the Translation Centre should observe the principle of absolute equality in its treatment of the official languages of the European Community; - point out that the Translation Centre was established for both the bodies and the institutions of the Union and that it was established within the Commission; - make the Centre responsible for coordinating translations of the institutions with the aim of ensuring, where necessary, centralised competitions and maximum use of the capacity available; - remove any reference to its legal personality and capacity; - set up a coordinating body to organise cooperation between the translation departments of the bodies and institutions; - require a two-thirds majority within the management board when taking decisions in the area of interinstitutional cooperation; - establish financial equilibrium as an objective to be achieved within five years, and entrust the Commission with the administration of the Centre's general services; - enable the European Parliament to give its opinion on the financial provisions to be adopted by the Centre's management board; - ensure that the Council obtained the opinion of the European Parliament on the review of the Centre's financial arrangements, which it should carry out within three years of the starting-up period. �