Translation unit in Malta to close down

A small European Commission translation unit in Malta will be closed down by the end of August because the Commission feels there are enough translators in Luxembourg to cope with the workload.

The Commission employs about 50 Maltese translators in Luxembourg to do the work related to the publication of its proposals and regulations into Maltese.

For the past years, the Commission also had an antenna office in Valletta with five translators.

A spokesman for the Commission told The Times yesterday that the Malta office will be "modified", without referring to its permanent closure.

"The DGT (directorate general translation) field officers were very useful in monitoring the translation of the acquis communautaire by national authorities in the pre-enlargement period and later in supporting the provision of translations into Maltese," the spokesman said.

"At the same time, translators were being progressively recruited in the headquarters of the Commission.

"Now that this level of staffing has made significant progress, field officers based in member states that joined the EU in 2004, are progressively being converted to deal with broader activities, including contacts with the local linguistic communities."

Despite this diplomatic answer, sources said the office would close down.

In fact, of the five staff members, two have left as their contract was not renewed, another joined the Commission in Luxembourg and the rest were given the chance to join the Commission on a temporary basis in Brussels.

Maltese is an official language of the EU. Over the past few years, the Commission has often stated that it was finding it extremely difficult to recruit the right translators and interpreters.

The number of Maltese translators needed to cover the work of the EU institutions is estimated to be about 120. The Commission is organising competitions to recruit additional staff.

The interpretation services are in a much worse situation, with only one full-time Maltese interpreter.