New Translation
Linguist Agent
€3,292 - €3,725/month Deadline: 22 Jun 2026
Translation Jobs
1 positions at EU institutions
Translation roles inside the European Union institutions cover the largest single concentration of public-sector translators in the world. The EU operates in 24 official languages, and every legal act published in the Official Journal must be available in all 24 with equal authenticity. The relevant institutions include the Commission's [DG Translation (DGT)](/institutions/ec/), the [Council Translation Service](/institutions/council/), the European Parliament's DG TRAD, the [Court of Justice](/institutions/court-of-justice/)'s lawyer-linguists, the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT) in Luxembourg, and the in-house translation teams of major agencies. Together they employ around 4,500 staff translators plus a substantial freelance network. If you're a translator, a lawyer-linguist, a revisor, or a language-technology specialist, the EU institutions are the world's single largest professional employer in this domain.
1 position found
About Translation careers at EU institutions
Typical roles in translation
The largest hiring categories are staff translators across the Commission's [DG Translation (DGT)](/institutions/ec/), the [Council Translation Service](/institutions/council/), the European Parliament's DG TRAD, and the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT) in Luxembourg. Lawyer-linguists at the [Court of Justice](/institutions/court-of-justice/) translate, revise, and verify legal texts including judgments, opinions of Advocates General, and procedural documents. Senior revisors quality-control translations done by junior staff and freelancers. Terminologists curate IATE (the EU's inter-institutional terminology database). Language-technology specialists develop and deploy machine-translation engines (notably the eTranslation neural MT engine), neural-MT post-editing workflows, and emerging language-AI applications. Freelance translators work under framework contracts with the institutions. Specialised tracks include legal translation, financial translation (ECB, EIB), pharmaceutical translation (EMA), technical translation, and audio-visual translation (subtitling, scripting). See also [interpretation](/domains/interpretation/) for spoken-language work and [languages](/domains/languages/) for the broader linguistic professional category.
Top hiring institutions for translation
The Commission's [DG Translation (DGT)](/institutions/ec/) is the largest single employer of translators in the world, with around 2,500 staff translators across Brussels and Luxembourg plus an extensive freelance network. The European Parliament's DG TRAD employs around 1,200 staff translators across Luxembourg and the Brussels and Strasbourg sites. The [Council Translation Service](/institutions/council/) employs around 700 staff translators in Brussels. The [Court of Justice](/institutions/court-of-justice/) in Luxembourg employs around 600 lawyer-linguists. The Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT) in Luxembourg employs around 200 staff providing translation services to EU agencies and bodies. The [European Central Bank](/institutions/ecb/) in Frankfurt maintains a smaller multilingual-services team. The [European Investment Bank](/institutions/eca/) and the [European Court of Auditors](/institutions/eca/) maintain in-house translation capacity. Major agencies ([EMA](/institutions/ema/), [EFSA](/institutions/efsa/), [ECHA](/institutions/echa/), [EU-IPO](/institutions/ec/)) operate substantial outsourced translation through the CdT plus some in-house capacity. The [Publications Office](/institutions/op/) employs editorial and language-technology specialists.
Salary expectations for translation
Standard EU staff scales apply across the translation services. AD5 entry-level translators and lawyer-linguists earn around €5,000–5,700 per month gross at step 1. AD7 senior translators and lawyer-linguists earn €7,400–8,500. AD9 principal translators, senior revisors, and senior lawyer-linguists earn €9,500–10,500. AD12 heads of language unit reach €13,000–14,500. Function Group IV (FG IV) Contract Agents working as junior translators or terminologists typically earn €4,200–6,800/month. Function Group III (FG III) translation assistants earn €3,300–5,500. Freelance translators work under per-page or per-word framework contracts with rates that vary by language pair, urgency, and domain — typical rates range from €25–55 per page (1,500 characters). A senior staff translator with a strong language combination and several years of experience comfortably earns above €100,000 gross annually. Standard EU benefits — expatriation allowance (16%), household and education allowances, EU community tax — apply to staff. Brussels and Luxembourg correction coefficients are close to 100.
Required qualifications and background
Translation positions typically require a master's degree in translation (especially from EMT-network-accredited universities — the European Master's in Translation network covers around 80 programmes across the EU), recognised translation qualifications (CIOL DipTrans, ITI Membership, ATA, national equivalents), or a relevant degree plus a recognised translation qualification. Translators typically work into their A-language (mother tongue) from at least two source languages including at least one of the institutions' procedural languages (English, French, German). Lawyer-linguists at the Court of Justice require a 4-year law degree from an EU member state plus translation competence and excellent French (the Court's primary deliberative language). Specialised translation training in EU institutional usage, financial translation, pharmaceutical translation, or legal translation strengthens applications. Modern CAT-tool experience (SDL Trados, MemoQ, MateCat, the EU's own eTranslation post-editing workflow) is essential. Familiarity with the Interinstitutional Style Guide is expected. EPSO competitions for translators run periodically for specific language combinations.
EU-specific context to be aware of
EU translation operates under Council Regulation No 1 (1958), which establishes the EU's 24 official languages and the foundational principle of multilingualism. Every legal act published in the Official Journal must be available in all 24 languages with equal authenticity — meaning translation is not a downstream activity but an integral part of EU legislative procedure. The institutions have invested heavily in language technology over the past decade: the eTranslation neural machine-translation engine, the IATE terminology database, the EUR-Lex semantic CELLAR infrastructure, and increasingly AI-assisted translation workflows. The shift to neural MT post-editing has reshaped much of the translator workflow — translators are expected to combine human linguistic and domain expertise with MT-engine output through post-editing. The Court of Justice operates with French as its primary deliberative language; the European Parliament has the heaviest multilingual workload given plenary-session documents requiring all 24 languages within tight deadlines. Career mobility between Commission DGT, Council Translation, Parliament DG TRAD, the Court of Justice, and the CdT is high. See also [interpretation](/domains/interpretation/) and [languages](/domains/languages/) for related career paths.
Frequently asked questions
What qualifications are needed for translation roles?
A master's degree in translation (especially from EMT-network universities), recognised translation qualifications (CIOL DipTrans, ITI Membership, ATA, national equivalents), or a relevant degree plus translation qualification. Translators work into their A-language (mother tongue) from at least two source languages including at least one of the institutions' procedural languages (English, French, German). Lawyer-linguists at the Court of Justice need a 4-year law degree plus translation competence and excellent French. Modern CAT-tool experience is essential.
Which EU institutions hire translation professionals?
The Commission's DG Translation (around 2,500 staff) is the largest translator employer in the world. The European Parliament's DG TRAD has around 1,200. The Council Translation Service has around 700. The Court of Justice has around 600 lawyer-linguists. The Translation Centre (CdT) in Luxembourg serves EU agencies. The ECB, EIB, and ECA maintain in-house teams. The Publications Office employs editorial and language-technology specialists.
What is the typical salary for translation roles at EU institutions?
AD5 around €5,000–5,700/month gross at step 1, AD7 €7,400–8,500, AD9 €9,500–10,500, AD12 €13,000–14,500. FG IV contract agents earn €4,200–6,800/month, FG III translation assistants €3,300–5,500. Freelance translators work under per-page/per-word framework contracts, typically €25–55 per page. Senior staff translators with strong language combinations earn above €100,000 gross annually. Standard EU community tax and allowances apply.
Are translation roles available across all duty stations?
Brussels hosts most Commission DGT, Council Translation Service, and Parliament DG TRAD positions. Luxembourg hosts DGT departments, Parliament DG TRAD work, the Court of Justice lawyer-linguists, and the CdT. Strasbourg hosts Parliament plenary-session work. Frankfurt hosts the ECB's translation teams. Some translators work remotely under telework arrangements after onboarding.
Can non-EU citizens apply for translation positions?
Permanent statutory positions require EU citizenship. The freelance translation pool is open to non-EU citizens. The Court of Justice lawyer-linguist positions require EU citizenship and an EU member-state law degree. The most realistic non-citizen paths involve the freelance translation pool, contractor work for language-services firms supporting the institutions, or pursuing EU citizenship through residency.