WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1502/97 by Pervenche BERES to the Commission. Languages used in invitations to tender in connection with Community programmes
Date: 1997-04-30
Institutions: BERES, European Parliament
Subjects: EU Official Journal, EU programme, European Commission, invitation to tender, official language, publishing deadline, research and development, translation, use of languages

10. 2. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 45/43

For Meda programmes a contract opportunities forecast is quarterly published in the Official journal as well as
tender  notices.  Upon  receipt  of  expressions  of  interest,  the  short-list  is  drawn  up  by  the  Commission  in
association with the local authorities of beneficiary countries in compliance with specific selection criteria.

Contract  awarding  is  done  in  compliance  with  the  specific  awarding  criteria  in  the  tender  conditions.  The
contract award, on a case by case basis by the Commission or the beneficiary, is always done after agreement of
both parties.

(1)  OJ L 375, 23.12.1989.
(2)  OJ L 165, 4. 7.1996.

(98/C 45/52)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1502/97

by Pervenche Bere‘s (PSE) to the Commission

(30 April 1997)

Subject: Languages used in invitations to tender in connection with Community programmes

Invitations to tender in connection with Community programmes are increasingly in English, briefings on such
programmes are held in English, sometimes with very little interpretation, and requests for information on these
scientific and research programmes available on Cordis or via ISPO are made in English.

Is this situation compatible with the Commission(cid:146)s stated commitment to a multilingual information society?

What  steps  does  the  Commission  intend  to  take  in  order  to  meet  the  need  for  information  on  research
programmes in all EU languages?

Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission

(30 June 1997)

Calls for proposals are published in the Official Journal in all the official Community languages. The languages
used at meetings depend on the requirements of those present.

As the Commission has already pointed out (see the reply to Written Question No 3066/96 by Mr Bossi) (1), in the
implementation of technological research and development programmes it pursues a policy of making the texts
available to users in all Community languages. For practical and logistical reasons, however, it is not always
possible  to  produce  and  publish  the  various  language  versions  simultaneously.  The  availability  of  certain
versions may thus be delayed.

The Commission has launched a number of initiatives designed to overcome language barriers, including the
Multilingual  Information  Society  programme,  and  has  stepped  up  its  endeavours  to  gear  translation  and
interpretation provision to requirements and to incorporate advanced technical and language facilities.

Responding to the demands created by the increasing volume of communication and the expansion of subjects
covered  and  languages  used  is  a  challenge  to  the  Commission,  which  has  limited  human  and  budgetary
resources. The Commission is, however, determined to bring about improvements by dint of coherent, sustained
efforts.

(1)  OJ C 105, 3.4.1997.