1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No2965/94
of28November1994
settingupaTranslationCentreforbodiesoftheEuropeanUnion
(OJ L 314, 7.12.1994, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EC) No 2610/95 of 30 October 1995 L 268 1 10.11.1995
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COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No2965/94
of28November1994
settingupaTranslationCentreforbodiesoftheEuropeanUnion
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,Whereas, further to the decision of 29 October 1993 taken by common
agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of theMember States, meeting at Head of State and Government level, onthe location of the seats of certain bodies and departments of theEuropean Communitiesand of Europol(
1), the Representatives of the
Governmentsof the Member Statesadopted by common agreement a
declaration on the establishment of a Translation Centre for the bodies
of the Union within the Commission's translation departments locatedin Luxembourg to provide the necessary translation services for theoperation of the bodies whose seats were determined by the decisionof 29 October 1993, with the exception of the European Monetary
Institute;
Whereas the establishment of a single specialized centre provides a
practical solution to the problem of meeting the translation needs of a
large number of bodiesin variouslocationsthroughout the Union;
Whereas the rules governing the Translation Centre should enable it to
provide services to bodies with legal personality administrative inde-pendence and their own budgets, while maintaining an operationallink with the Commission;
Whereasthe Treaty doesnot provide s pecific powersof action for the
adoption of thisRegulation, other than thos e contained in Article 235,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
A Translation Centre for the bodies of the Union (hereinafter referred
to as ‘the Centre’) is hereby established.
Article 2
1. The Centre shall provide the necessary translation services for the
operation of the following agenciesand offices :
— the European Environment Agency,
— the European Training Foundation,— the European Monitoring Centre for Drugsand Drug Addiction,
— the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medical Products,
— the Agency for Health and Safety at Work,
— the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (trade marks,
designs and models),
— the European Police Office (Europol) and the Europol DrugsUnit.
The Centre and each of the agenciesand officesmentioned above s hall
conclude arrangementscovering the waysin which they will cooperate.
2. Agencies and offices set up by the Council other than those
referred to in paragraph 1 may have access to the services of the Centreon the basis of arrangements to be concluded with the Centre.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 323, 30. 11. 1993, p. 1.▼M1
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3. The institutions and bodies of the Union which already have their
own translation service may, on a voluntary basis, have access to theCentre in accordance with arrangementsto be agreed between the
parties in order to have recourse to its services.
4. The Centre shall participate fully in the work of the Interinstitu-
tional Committee for Translation.
Article 3
1. The Centre shall have legal personality.
2. To enable it to perform the tasks assigned to it, the Centre shall,
in all Member States have the most extensive legal capacity accordedto legal persons under their laws.
Article 4
1. The Centre shall have a Management Board consisting of:
(a) a representative from each of the agencies and offices listed in
Article 2 (1); any arrangement referred to in Article 2 (2) mayenvisage a representation of the agency or office party to thatarrangement;
(b) a representative from each of the Member States of the European
Union;
(c) two representatives from the Commission; and
(d) one representative each from the institutions and bodies which have
their own translation services but have concluded agreements with
the Centre for collaboration on a voluntary basis.
2. Alternates for the representatives mentioned in paragraph 1 shall
be appointed to replace the representatives in their absence.
3. The Management Board shall be chaired by one of the Commis-
sion representatives.
Article 5
1. Membersof the Management Board s hall be appointed for three
years.
2. The appointment of membersof the Management Board s hall be
renewable.
Article 6
1. The Chairman shall call a meeting of the Management Board at
least twice a year and if at least one third of the members referred toin Article 4 (1) (a) so request.
2. Decisions of the Management Board shall be taken by a two-
thirdsmajority.
3. Each member of the Management Board shall have one vote.
4. The Chairman shall not vote.
Article 7
The Management Board shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.
Article 8
1. The Management Board shall adopt the Centre's annual work
programme on the basis of a draft prepared by the Director.
2. The programme may be adapted during the year by the procedure
referred to in paragraph 1.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 3
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3. By 31 January each year at the latest, the Management Board
shall adopt an annual report on the Centre's activities. The Directorshall communicate it to the bodies listed in Article 2 and to the
European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of
Auditors.
Article 9
1. The Centre shall be under the authority of a Director appointed
by the Management Board on a proposal from the Commission for aperiod of five years; the appointment shall be renewable.
2. The Director shall be the legal representative of the Centre. He or
she shall be responsible for:
— the proper preparation and implementation of the work programme
and of the decisions taken by the Management Board,
— day-to-day administration,— the performance of the tasks assigned to the Centre,— the implementation of the budget,— all staff matters, and— the preparation of the Management Board meetings.
3. The Director shall be accountable to the Management Board.
Article 10
1. Estimates shall be drawn up of all the Centre's revenue and
expenditure for each financial year, which shall correspond to thecalendar year, and shall be entered in the Centre's budget.
2. (a) The revenue and expenditure shown in the Centre's budget shall
be in balance.
(b) Subject to the provisions set out in subparagraph (c) concerning
the start-up period, the revenue shall come from the payments
made by the agenciesand officess erviced by the Centre and
the institutions and bodies with which collaboration has beenagreed in return for work performed by it.
(c) In the start-up period, which shall not exceed three financial
years:
— the offices and agencies, institutions and bodies serviced by
the Centre shall at the start of a financial year make a lump-
sum contribution from their budgets which is based on thebest possible information and which will be adapted in thelight of the actual work performed,
— a contribution may be made from the general budget of the
European Communitiesto the Centre to ens ure itsoperation.
3. The expenditure of the Centre shall include staff remuneration,
admistrative and infrastructure expenses and operation costs.
Article 11
1. Before the review provided for in Article 19, any agency or office
referred to in Article 2 (1) which isexperiencing particular difficultiesin connection with the provision of services by the Centre mayapproach the Centre in order to seek the most appropriate solutions tothose difficulties.
2. If it proves impossible to arrive at such solutions within three
months, the agency or office in question may send a duly substantiatedcommunication to the Commission, so that the Commission can takethe necessary measures and, if appropriate, organize, under the auspicesof the centre and with its assistance, more systematic recourse to thirdpartiesfor trans lation of the documentsconcerned.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 4
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Article 12
The Commission will provide the Centre, on the basis of arrangements
to be concluded with the Centre, against reimbursement of costs, withthe following assistance:
1. support services: terminology, data bases, documentation, machine
translation, training and records of freelance translators as well as
the secondment of officials to posts at the Centre;
2. the management of basic administrative services: payment of
salaries, provision of health insurance, pension schemes, organiza-tion of social services.
Article 13
1. By 31 March each year, the Director shall draw up a draft state-
ment of estimates of the Centre's revenue and expenditure for thefollowing financial year and shall transmit them to the ManagementBoard, together with an establishment plan.
2. The Management Board shall adopt the statement of estimates
accompanied by the establishment plan and shall transmit them imme-
diately to the Commission, which on that basis shall establish theestimates corresponding to the subsidies granted to the agencies andofficeslis ted in Article 2 in the preliminary draft budget which itplacesbefore the Council purs uant to Article 203 of the Treaty.
3. The Management Board shall adopt the Centre's budget before the
beginning of the financial year, adjusting it where necessary to the
payments made by the agencies and offices, institutions and bodies
mentioned in Article 2.
Article 14
1. The Director shall implement the Centre's budget.
2. Monitoring of the commitment and payment of all the Centre's
expenditure and of the establishment and recovery of all the Centre's
revenue shall be carried out by the Commission's Financial Controller.
3. By 31 March each year, the Director shall send the Commission,
the Management Board and the Court of Auditorsthe accountsfor allthe Centre'srevenue and expenditure in res pect of the preceding finan-cial year. The Court of Auditorss hall examine them in accordance withArticle 188c of the Treaty.
4. The Management Board shall give a discharge to the Director of
the Centre in respect of implementation of the budget.
Article 15
After consulting the Commission and the Court of Auditors, the
Management Board shall adopt internal financial provisions specifying,in particular, the procedure for establishing and implementing the
Centre'sbudget.
Article 16
The Protocol on the Privilegesand Immunitiesof the European
Communitiess hall apply to the Centre.
Article 17
1. The staff of the Centre shall be subject to the rules and regula-
tionsapplying to officialsand other s ervantsof the EuropeanCommunities.
2. In respect of its staff, the Centre shall exercise the powers which
have been devolved to the appointing authority.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 5
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3. The Management Board, in agreement with the Commission,
shall adopt the necessary implementing provisions to ensure, inter
alia, the confidentiality of certain work.
Article 18
1. The contractual liability of the Centre shall be governed by the
law applicable to the contract in question.
The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdic-
tion to give judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained incontractsconcluded by the Centre.
2. In the case of non-contractual liability, the Centre shall, in accor-
dance with the general principlescommon to the lawsof the MemberStates make good any damage caused by its servants in performance oftheir duties.
The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdic-
tion in any dispute relating to compensation for such damage.
3. The personal liability of the servants of the Centre shall be
governed by the relevant provisions applying to them.
Article 19
The operating proceduresof the Centre asdefined in thisRegulation
may be reviewed by the Council on the basis of a proposal from theCommission and after the Opinion of the European Parliament hasbeen given, no later than three yearsafter the end of the s tart-up periodof the Centre, which will not exceed three budgetary years.
Article 20
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 6
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STATEMENT 1
STATEMENTBYTHECOUNCIL
The Council attaches the utmost importance to ensuring proper application of
the principlesof efficiency and value for money.
In thisres pect if recallsthat the Financial Regulation containsthe following
provisions:
‘The Budget appropriations must be used in accordance with the principles
of sound financial management, and in particular those of economy and
cost- effectiveness. Quantified objectives must be identified and the
progress of their realization monitored.
For activities of an operational nature, the financial statement shall include
appropriate justification of the sums to be contributed by the Community,
supported, if appropriate, by relevant statistical data.’1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 7
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STATEMENT 2
JOINTSTATEMENTBYTHECOUNCILANDTHECOMMISSION
On the occasion of the setting up of the Translation Centre, the Council and the
Commission confirm that the Centre should be organized in such a way as to
enable the official languagesof the European Communitiesto be treated on an
equal footing, without prejudice to any specific provisions on the language
usage of the various bodies on behalf of which the Centre operates.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 8
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STATEMENT 3
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSION
REGARDINGARTICLE17
The Council and the Commission consider that, in view of its tasks and the
structure of its budget, the Translation Centre should make use of staff manage-
ment proceduresthat are asflexible aspos s ible without jeopardizing the
performance of itsrole.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 9
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STATEMENT 4
STATEMENTBYTHECOUNCILREGARDINGARTICLE17
The Council requests the Commission to:
— submit by the end of 1994 a report to the extent to which the provisions of
Article 5 of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulationscontinue to be jus tified and
in particular considering their cost-effectiveness,
— submit appropriate proposals for the reform of those provisions in the light
of that report.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 10
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STATEMENT 5
STATEMENT BY THE GERMAN DELEGATION REGARDING
ARTICLE17
Despite having serious reservations, the Federal Republic of Germany agrees to
the compromise regarding Article 17 so as not to compromise the consensus
among Member States and the start of the Centre's operations. It considers that
a revision of the contested provision continues to be required as a matter of
urgency. While giving itsapproval, it doess o in the hope that the call madetoday will finally lead to proposals from the Commission to that effect.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 11
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STATEMENT 6
STATEMENTBYTHECOMMISSION
The Commission will take the initiative, in accordance with its powers, of
proposing in the Heads of Administration Group the rapid creation under the
aegis of this Group of an Interinstitutional Committee for Translation with the
task of promoting coordination among the translation services of the various
institutions, including the Translation Centre for the bodies of the Union.1994R2965 — EN — 17.11.1995 — 001.001 — 12