AD/1/2025/LINC DUTCH-LANGUAGE AND FRENCH-LANGUAGE CONFERENCE INTERPRETERS (AD 7)

NOTICE OF PARLIAMENT INTERNAL COMPETITION

AD/1/2025/LINC

 DUTCH-LANGUAGE AND FRENCH-LANGUAGE CONFERENCE INTERPRETERS (AD 7) 

Before applying, you must read carefully the ‘Guide for candidates in internal competitions organised by the European Parliament’ (hereinafter, ‘the Guide’) attached to this notice of competition.

The Guide is an integral part of the notice of competition and will help you to understand the rules governing internal competitions and the application procedure.

Deadline for applications: 12.00 (noon) Brussels time on 21 May 2025.

1.           GENERAL REMARKS 

2.           WHAT DUTIES CAN I EXPECT TO PERFORM?           

3.           AM I ELIGIBLE?             

3.1.     General eligibility criteria   

3.1.1.  Compliance with Article 28 of the Staff Regulations            

3.1.2.  Status and seniority   

3.2.     Specific eligibility criteria        

3.2.1.  Education         

3.2.2.  Professional experience          

3.2.3.  Knowledge of languages        

4.           HOW WILL THE COMPETITION BE ORGANISED?  

4.1.     Eligibility criteria check             

4.2.     Tests 

4.2.1.  Practical tests               

4.2.2.  Oral test            

5.           LIST OF SUITABLE CANDIDATES        

6.           HOW TO APPLY             

ANNEXES:

GUIDE FOR CANDIDATES IN INTERNAL COMPETITIONS ORGANISED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

DECLARATION FORM

This internal competition is being organised for the purpose of establishing a list of suitable candidates for the job of conference interpreters in Parliament. The selection board will guarantee equal opportunities for all candidates, irrespective of the department they work for, their previous or current professional experience, function group and grade.

1. GENERAL REMARKS

The Appointing Authority has decided, on the basis of Article 29(1)(d) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (hereinafter ‘the Staff Regulations’), to organise an internal competition for the Directorate-General for Logistics and Interpretation for Conferences (hereinafter ‘DG LINC').

This notice of competition and the Guide form the legally binding framework for this competition.

The profile sought is that of conference interpreter for the following languages:

1. Dutch (2 successful candidates)

2. French (3 successful candidates)

This competition notice covers those two languages. You may only apply for one of them. You must fill in the declaration form attached to this notice and choose your main language (language 1), your language combination (section 3.2.3 of the competition notice) as well as your practical tests language choices. You must attach the filled in declaration form when you complete the online application. Once you have validated your online application you will no longer be able to alter that choice.

The European Parliament is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications without discrimination on any ground such as gender, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status or family situation.

2. WHAT DUTIES CAN I EXPECT TO PERFORM?

DG LINC is the cornerstone of all multilingual conference services in the European Parliament. DG LINC’s mission is to give the European Parliament the means to achieve its political objectives by providing it with linguistic, technical and logistical support for its meetings with the highest degree of professionalism and attention to excellence. DG LINC contributes to democratic legitimacy by helping Members convey their views in all the official languages, ensuring that legislative work runs smoothly and is accessible to all Europeans.

The Directorate for Interpretation in DG LINC focuses on playing a full role in the success of multilingual meetings. It is responsible for the provision of high-quality interpretation for meetings of the European Parliament and other EU institutions and bodies and participates in all activities needed to guarantee a flexible, adaptable and excellent service now and in the future.

Posted in Brussels, the primary role of a conference interpreter consists in ensuring that oral communication in meetings and other contexts is interpreted completely and accurately into an official language of the European Union.

This work in the Dutch and French Interpretation Unit involves both simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. It also entails prior study of the subjects to be discussed at meetings and terminology glossaries.

The duties of an interpreter call for a high degree of adaptability (frequent meetings on many different topics, speakers from all political and administrative levels, irregular hours) and the ability to grasp a range of often complex issues, to react quickly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively. Candidates must be capable of working intensively on a regular basis, both on their own and as part of a team, in a multicultural and political working environment. They may be asked to add additional languages to their language combination, in keeping with the needs of the service. They will also be expected to continue their professional learning and development throughout their career.

Other tasks include interpreter training, assessment duties and quality monitoring as well as a willingness to take on new and diverse tasks, including non-interpretation tasks (also in other parts of the DG), in order to meet the needs of the service in line with the political objectives of the European Parliament.

Depending on their language knowledge, interpreters may be asked to work from language combinations other than those specified in Section 3.2.3. below.

The duties of a conference interpreter involve frequent duty travel, both between Parliament’s three places of work and elsewhere. Interpreters may be required to obtain a personal security clearance.

3. AM I ELIGIBLE?

On the closing date for applications you must meet all the general and specific eligibility criteria listed below.

 3.1 General eligibility criteria

 3.1.1 Compliance with Article 28 of the Staff Regulations

In accordance with Article 28 of the Staff Regulations, you must:

–         be a national of one of the European Union’s Member States*;

–         enjoy full rights as a citizen;

–         have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by the laws on military service;

–         be able to produce the appropriate character references as to your suitability for the performance of the duties involved.

*Given the Bureau’s decision of 2 May 2018, and on the basis of Article 1(1)(i) of Annex III to the Staff Regulations, the Appointing Authority has decided to open this internal competition also to European Parliament officials and temporary agents who are not nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union, but are nationals of the United Kingdom.

NB: In this context, nationals of the United Kingdom, and only for the purpose of completing the application form for this competition, should tick the checkbox in Apply4EP stating that they are a ‘national of one of the Member States’.

 3.1.1 Status and seniority

In accordance with Article 2 of the internal rules on the recruitment of officials and other servants (General Implementing Provisions of 17 October 2014), this internal competition is open only to staff of the European Parliament who also meet the following general eligibility criteria:

–      Status: you serve as an official in one of the administrative statuses: (a) ‘active employment’, (b) ‘secondment’, (e) ‘leave for military service’, or (f) ‘parental leave or family leave’ of Article 35 of the Staff Regulations; or as a member of the temporary staff (Title II of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS)); and

–      Seniority: you have been in the service of the European Parliament for at least three years as an official in one or more of the administrative statuses referred to above and/or as a member of the temporary staff and/or as a member of the contract staff (respectively defined in Title II 'temporary staff' and Title IV 'contract staff' of the CEOS);

 3.2 Specific eligibility criteria

3.2.1 Education

You must have completed:

(i) a four-year full-time university course in conference interpreting attested by a recognised diploma;

or

(ii) a recognised Master’s degree in conference interpreting, following the successful completion of a Bachelor’s degree cycle;

or

(iii) a three-year full-time university course, attested by a recognised diploma, followed by at least one year’s professional experience as a conference interpreter, duly substantiated by documents which clearly indicate the number of days worked as a conference interpreter;

or

(iv) a three-year full-time university course, attested by a recognised diploma, followed by at least one year’s university training in conference interpreting (other than a Master’s degree), attested by a certificate or any other official document.

Diplomas, whether issued in a Member State or in a non-EU country, must be recognised by an official body of an EU Member State, such as the ministry of education.

Candidates holding diplomas issued in a non-EU country must enclose with their application an EU-equivalence for their diplomas. In case such candidates do not hold an equivalence at the time of application, they must attach proof that they have submitted a request for equivalence to the National Authority. Nevertheless, such candidates would have to provide an EU-equivalence at the latest before recruitment.

For further information on recognition of qualifications obtained in a non-EU country in the ENIC-NARIC networks, see https://www.enic-naric.net/. The selection board will take account of the differences between education systems. Examples of the minimum qualifications required are given in the table included in the Guide.

3.2.1 Professional experience

After obtaining the educational qualifications giving access to the competition (see Section 3.2.1), you must have acquired at least 36 months’ professional experience in duties requiring a university degree. This professional experience must include at least 100 days’ work as a conference interpreter.

The following will not be regarded as constituting experience as a conference interpreter: court interpreter, liaison interpreter, company interpreter or interpreter for social or other public services.

3.2.1 Knowledge of languages

The term ‘language combination’ refers to the languages used by conference interpreters in their work. Working languages are divided into ‘active’ and ‘passive’ languages and are defined below as ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ languages:

‘A’ language: your active main language - perfect knowledge at mother-tongue level of which you have a perfect command and into which you work from all your other working languages when interpreting both simultaneously and consecutively.

‘B’ language: an active language, other than your main language, in which you are perfectly fluent and into which you interpret from your main language both simultaneously and consecutively (retour language).

‘C’ language: a passive language from which you interpret into your main language and which you understand fully (level C1 minimum of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

You must have one of the two language combinations listed below:

- Language combination (A+CCC):

Active ‘A’ language: main language chosen from among the two languages of this competition (Dutch or French) (Language 1 in your application form)

Passive ‘C’ languages:

—        C 1: English (Language 2 in your application form)

—        C 2: a European Union official language (must be different from the A and C1 and C3 languages) (Language 3 in your application form)

—        C 3: a European Union official language (must be different from the A and C1 and C2 languages) (Language 4 in your application form)

OR

- Language combination (A+BC):

Active ‘A’ language: main language chosen from among the two languages of this competition (Dutch or French) (Language 1 in your application form)

Active ‘B’ language: English (Language 2 in your application form)

Passive ‘C’ language: a European Union official language (must be different from the A and B languages) (Language 3 in your application form)

The language registered as your main language in the HRM Portal (Streamline) will be regarded as your language 1. That language cannot be changed.

4. HOW WILL THE COMPETITION BE ORGANISED ?

The Appointing Authority will draw up a list of those candidates who submitted their application file in accordance with the arrangements and by the deadline stipulated in Section 6 ‘How to apply’ of the notice. This list will be sent to the Chair of the selection board.

The competition is based on tests.

It consists of three stages:

–         Check of general and specific eligibility criteria;

–         Practical tests;

–         Oral test.

4.1 Eligibility criteria check

The selection board will check the general and specific eligibility of all candidates on the Appointing Authority’s list and will draw up a list of candidates who comply with the general eligibility criteria outlined in Section 3.1 and the specific eligibility criteria in Section 3.2 of this notice. Candidates on this list will be admitted to the competition.

The selection board will base its decisions solely on the information given on the application form and substantiated by the accompanying supporting documents submitted with the application (see the Guide for further details.)

Upon completion of the eligibility check, candidates will be notified whether or not they have been admitted to the competition.

 4.2 Tests

All candidates admitted to the competition will be invited to the practical tests.

 4.2.1 Practical tests

Common for both language combinations (A+CCC) or (A+BC)
(a) Preparation of a speech in language A, intended for testing purposes. The candidate will be given a file with instructions on two different topics and asked to choose one topic to prepare notes for a speech suitable for an accreditation test. The speech will then be recorded. This test will involve the use of an audio-visual medium and the candidate’s performance will be recorded.

–         Maximum time allowed:

o   for preparation: 2 hours and 30 minutes

o   for recording: 45 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–         Pass mark: 20 points

Language combination (A+CCC)

(b) Simultaneous interpretation of a speech from language C1, C2 or C3 as chosen by the candidate into language A. This test will involve the use of an audio-visual medium and the candidate’s performance will be recorded.

–         Duration of the original speech: no more than 12 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–          Pass mark: 20 points

(c) Simultaneous interpretation of a speech from a C language different to that chosen in b) and d) into language A. This test will involve the use of an audio-visual medium and the candidate’s performance will be recorded.

–         Duration of the original speech: no more than 12 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–         Pass mark: 20 points

(d) Consecutive interpretation of a speech from a C language different to that chosen in b) and c) into language A. This test will be taken live in front of the selection board and may involve the use of an audio-visual medium.

–         Duration of the original speech: no more than 6 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–         Pass mark: 20 points

Language combination (A+BC)

(b) Simultaneous interpretation of a speech from language B into language A. This test will involve the use of an audio-visual medium and the candidate’s performance will be recorded.

–         Duration of the original speech: no more than 12 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–         Pass mark: 20 points

(c) Simultaneous interpretation of a speech from language C into language A. This test will involve the use of an audio-visual medium and the candidate’s performance will be recorded.

–         Duration of the original speech: no more than 12 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–         Pass mark: 20 points

(d) Consecutive interpretation of a speech from language A into language B. This test will be taken live in front of the selection board and may involve the use of an audio-visual medium.

–         Duration of the original speech: no more than 6 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–         Pass mark: 20 points

For the entirety of the practical tests (a), (b), and (c), except for the (d), the tests will be conducted on a computer in a booth, and no written materials will be provided. For test (a) candidates will have access to the internet.

Candidates who have obtained the pass mark in each practical test will be invited to the oral test.

 4.2.2 Oral test

The oral test will be conducted in front of the selection board in language 2 (English).

The interview will be organised as follows:

The selection board will assess candidates’ suitability to perform the duties described in Section 2 of this notice. This assessment will encompass European Parliament core competences: continuous improvement, showing flexibility, team spirit and cooperation, result orientation and showing reliability, taking into account all the information contained in their application files.

–         Maximum duration: 45 minutes

–         Marking: 0 to 40 points

–         Pass mark: 20 points

You will receive instructions concerning the practical and oral tests in good time. These tests will be organised at a specific time on a specific date. If you do not reply to an invitation, cannot be contacted by email or fail to show up for a test, you may be disqualified. You must follow the instructions to the letter. Any failure to follow the instructions or any action not consistent with them may lead to your immediate disqualification.

5. LIST OF SUITABLE CANDIDATES

On the basis of the tests results, the selection board will draw up a list of suitable candidates as laid down in Section 1.The list will include the eligible candidates with the highest overall scores in the practical and oral tests, provided they have passed each of the tests.

The list will include any candidates tied for the final qualifying place. The candidates will be listed in alphabetical order.

The candidates will be informed individually of their results, and the list of suitable candidates will be published on the European Parliament intranet.

The list of suitable candidates will remain valid until 31 December 2028. The Appointing Authority may decide to extend its validity beyond that date. If extended, the candidates on the list will be informed at the relevant time.

Candidates who are offered a job, will be required to produce the originals of all requisite documents, including diplomas and employment certificates, for verification.

Inclusion on a list of suitable candidates does not constitute either a right to, or a guarantee of, recruitment.

6. HOW TO APPLY

You must apply on the Apply4EP platform, by:

12.00 (noon) Brussels time on 21 May 2025.

You must read carefully the Guide before completing the application form and you must provide the relevant supporting documents.

An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to you automatically after you have submitted your application form.

All communication about this competition must be through your Apply4EP account. Please DO NOT CALL to ask about this competition.

It is your responsibility to check regularly for correspondence concerning the competition, which will be sent to the email address you indicated in your Apply4EP account.