Episode 12: Inside the engine room of EU translation: how translation is planned and coordinated

How does a European Commission document make its way from an initial draft to 24 equally valid language versions?

In this episode of DGT podcast: Languages and Technology, Anna Holmén goes behind the scenes of the European Commission’s translation workflow with Ivana Zeljković, Head of DG Translation’s Demand Management Unit, and Iva Vatova-Ivanova from the same team.

They explain how DG Translation forecasts upcoming work, prepares complex translation packages, coordinates with Commission departments and agrees deadlines that allow EU legislation to reach citizens in 24 official EU languages.

The conversation takes us into the engine room of multilingualism: from terminology work and language technology to lead translators, editing, outsourcing and the systems used to manage urgent requests. We also hear how DG Translation achieves deadline compliance of over 99% and why human expertise, coordination and a passion for languages remain essential even as workflows become increasingly automated.

Tune in for a rare look at the people and processes working behind the scenes to make the EU’s 24-language system work every day.

Read more on our website: Translation at the European Commission - Multilingualism, translation and language-based AI services