Multilingual practice at EFSA

As part of the European Union’s institutional environment, EFSA promotes the multilingual nature of the Union and subscribes to the language policy of the European Union. Multilingualism is anchored in Regulation No. 1 of 1958 determining the languages to be used in the European Economic Community¹ and in other primary EU legislation².

EFSA believes that having access to information in a known language enables stakeholders and citizens to take part in the EU’s democratic process in a transparent way. Consequently, EFSA is committed to providing information in as many different languages as possible so that all stakeholders and EU citizens can understand the work we do. 

In line with the European Ombudsman recommendations on the use of official EU languages in the communication with the public, EFSA’s Management Board adopted in 2018 a multilingual policy for its overall stakeholder engagement and risk communication strategy.

[1] Regulation No 1, determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community, OJ P 017, 6.10.1958, p.385.
[2] See Article 3(3) of the Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union; Article 20(2d) and Article 24 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Consolidated version); Article 21 and Article 41(4) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Multilingual practice

The majority of EFSA communication material is available on EFSA’s website (www.efsa.europa.eu) in all EU official languages (23). Translations are accessible either directly on the relevant linguistic versions of the pages or by changing the default language in the dropdown menu present in the top-right corner of each page. 

In accordance with the decision on EFSA’s linguistic regime, English is the primary working language of the Authority and the authentic language for documents issued by the Authority. Documents and publications available in other EU official languages are translated from the relevant English authentic version, using a combination of human and machine translation. EFSA relies on the services of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union and on in-house translators.

EFSA scientific outputs are presently available in English only, which is the primary language of science in the EU, and the technical/scientific experts are able to understand EFSA’s specialised content in that language. Plain language summaries of selected scientific outputs considered to be particularly relevant or of interest for the general public are made available in French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Content overview per target audience and available languages on EFSA’s website

Website

Sections of the EFSA website that are considered of particular relevance to the public are subject to human translation and are available in all EU official languages (e.g. sections ‘About’, legal notice, accessibility statement, personal data protection, etc.).

Automated machine translation is available in all EU official languages for all other content, browsing levels, menu, and navigation items of the website. An appropriate disclaimer is added.

Please refer to the table above for more detailed information about the availability of the multilingual versions for the different types of content.

Social media

English is the language typically used for our social media channels. Content in a selected number of languages might be translated based on public relevance and/or interest.

Direct communication with the public

In accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, EFSA ensures that citizens who write to the Authority in the EU official language of their choice will receive a reply in the same language within a reasonable time frame (15 working days).

More information:

• Ask a question to the European Food Safety Authority

Public consultations

In accordance with EFSAs Founding Regulation and its policy on openness and transparency, EFSA conducts public consultations on draft scientific outputs in order to receive input from the scientific community and stakeholders. Public consultations are published in English only but participants can send their contribution in any EU official language.

Procurements

For purchases with a value above €143,000 EFSA uses the open call for tenders procedure.

Open call for tenders are published in the online version of Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union –  the Funding & Tenders Portal – where the basic information for tenders is available in all official EU languages.
Economic operators interested are invited to submit a tender in one of the official languages of the European Union.

For purchases with a value above €15,000 and equal to or below €143,000 EFSA uses the “negotiated procurement procedure” which involves inviting candidates of EFSA’s choice to submit an offer.  The language(s) used for the procedure are defined on a case-by-case approach based on the type of purchase and the targeted market and considering EFSA’s decision concerning its linguistic regime.

Grants

EFSA awards grants or subsidies for projects and activities that contribute to EFSA’s mission through calls for proposals. Proposals may be submitted in any official language of the European Union. However, as EFSA's working language is English, the submission of proposals in English speeds up the evaluation process.

Policy review

EFSA will continue to review this policy, measure its performance, and adapt it accordingly to future business demands and the needs of stakeholders and the general public.