To respond to the challenge of enlargement, we have already put aside a number of posts for the languages of the new Member States. The information society is opening new and fascinating horizons for multilingualism. On the Internet we are witnessing a rapidly increasing awareness of the importance of overcoming language barriers. Innovative solutions, such as online machine translation of web sites, evolve on almost a daily basis. However, the Commission's needs are more at the high-end spectrum of language services, where only human translators can deliver the quality required.
Informatics allows the human translator to get translations done better and quicker.
He can concentrate on tasks that add value, thereby leaving routine work to the machine. A quick check by the translator avoids duplication of work and represents a gain in productivity. Thus the translator will more and more become a highly-qualified multilinguistic engineer but will not be replaced by the computer. Nowadays information technology is a common feature in our everyday work. As a rule, the translator receives documents in electronic format, works in front of a screen and uses electronic databases to search for terminology.