Following an extensive procurement procedure organised in spring 2024, Lingsoft Language Services Oy has been selected as the European Parliament’s main translation provider for translations into Finnish and Swedish. As a result, Lingsoft will sign five-year framework contracts with the Parliament and continue its nearly 30 years of cooperation with the European Parliament. 

The contracts also include the provision of language services to the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions and the European Court of Auditors. The source languages are English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The estimated scope of the contracts is more than 90,000 pages per year, for an approximate value of EUR 4-5 million.

Multilingual European Parliament

The European Parliament’s translation needs cover a wide range of documents, from internal working documents to materials associated with different stages of the legislative process. The Parliament currently outsources approximately 30% of its translations, which highlights the key role that contracting partners selected through tendering procedures play in the European Union’s multilingual communications. 

The aim of EU translations is to promote open and democratic decision-making and to bring EU institutions closer to citizens. The progress of legislative processes in the EU can be monitored via the online services of both the Commission and the Parliament. Citizens can follow the decision-making processes in their own language, as documents are available in all official Union languages. High-quality and efficient translation cooperation with external language service providers such as Lingsoft is a key element in ensuring that EU activities are transparent and citizens can fully participate in them.

Language technologies to support experts

Lingsoft combines advanced language technologies with expert human work. AI speeds up the processing of large amounts of text, helps maintain consistency in terminology and improves efficiency. The quality of translations also improves when the expert can focus on formulating the language, expression and content. Efficient and high-quality translation services contribute to ensuring the continuity of multilingual communication of the European Parliament in all situations. The new framework contracts starting in January 2025 will provide work for a significant number of language experts inside and outside Lingsoft, in Finland, Sweden and across Europe. 

Additional information:
Piia Helle
Service Manager
Lingsoft Language Services
piia.helle@lingsoft.fi +358 40 538 6785