The European Parliament has overspent its translation budget by millions of euros, prompting accusations that the EU is continuing to waste taxpayers' money on vanity projects and bureaucracy.
Accounts obtained by the Daily Telegraph show the parliament's in-house translation unit is set to exceed its annual €8.2m (£7.5m) budget by €3.4m (£3.1m) this year. As part of its commitment to multilingualism, all major reports and official documents must be translated into each of the EU's 24 official languages. Private translators charge an average of €21.91 (£20.27) per page. Irish is the most expensive language to translate, costing up to €42 (£39) a page.
The EU has around 4,300 translators and 800 interpreters on its permanent staff, yet it still outsourced more than a third of its translation work to private contractors last year.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although the European Commission has said the cost of translation adds up to less than one per cent of the EU's total annual budget, or about €2 (£1.84) per person per year, eurosceptics have claimed it is still a waste of taxpayers' money.
The Telegraph cites projects such as a multi-lingual website called My House of European History, billed as "a unique collaborative project incorporating your testimonies on Europe" but branded self-indulgent propaganda by some, as an example of EU waste.
Speaking to the paper, Andrew Bridgen, Conservative MP for North-West Leicestershire, said: "Not only has the EU not had its accounts signed off for over 25 years by accountants, they are still wasting huge amounts of taxpayers' money on self-indulgent self-promotions."
-
How will climate change affect the UK?The Explainer Met Office projections show the UK getting substantially warmer and wetter – with more extreme weather events
-
Crossword: November 23, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
5 red-carpet ready cartoons about Donald Trump's reception of Prince Mohammed bin SalmanCartoon Artists take on the affordability crisis, 'things happen', and more
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Daylight saving time: a Spanish controversyUnder the Radar Spain’s prime minister has called on the EU to remove biannual clock changes in Europe
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Moldova gives decisive win to pro-EU partySpeed Read The country is now on track to join the European Union within five years
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
