The off-voices of EU politics

April 15, 2015

They lend their voices to heads of state and government, in the truest sense of the word. They ensure that politicians and diplomats understand what their counterparts are saying. The EU employs an armada of translators and interpreters. We met one of them at his workplace.

“Qui est pour?” asks the chair of the meeting. “Who is for it?” says the voice from the headset that many people here wear. Numerous arms in the hall go up. “Contre?” asks the President. “Who’s against it?” asks the voice from the headset. Some arms raise. From the speaker's booth, Tilmann Haak can have a good view of the meeting room of the European Parliament in Brussels. Among other things, it is his voice that sounds through the headset when you select the channel with the German translation. “Who’s for it?” Pause. “Who is against it?” The 34-year-old says these sentences many times a day during a shift.

Tilmann Haak is an interpreter working for the EU. English, French, Spanish and, more recently, Lithuanian – he translates from these languages into German. He completed an interpreting course in Heidelberg, with a focus on Spanish and French. You need a degree in two languages if you want to go the interpreter route. But it is helpful if you have a few more up your sleeve. For the Stuttgart native, the profession is his dream job. »The nice thing about the job is the mix of routine and always something new. This applies especially to the topics that are discussed here in the house. Because all policy areas that the EU deals with are discussed here. But it also applies to all of my working languages. You always learn something new there. That's why I think I'll still be happy doing the job in 20 years," says Tilmann Haak. On a typical working day he has to interpret two meetings. Three and a half hours in the morning and afternoon, four days a week. Added to this is the preparation time. Sometimes the topics of a meeting are very technical and require a lot of specialist vocabulary. Even a professional interpreter doesn't know every word, but sometimes has to read up and always prepare. In addition, working hours depend on the length of the meeting. Some are over after less than an hour or are postponed, while others drag on and last until the night.

Tilmann Haak has been working for the European Parliament for five years. He is a permanent civil servant, but many translators and interpreters also work freelance. The Parliament has three places of work: Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. The translator therefore spends at least one week per month in Strasbourg or Luxembourg. And because diplomacy and politics don't work without travel, he sometimes has to accompany politicians on trips abroad. Tilmann Haak is on the move a lot. In 2013 he was in Chile, twice in Spain, three times in Lithuania and in Latvia.

The EU also supports its interpreters in learning new languages. 23 languages are used in the EU Parliament and all must be covered. Tilmann Haak will start with Dutch this year. “I’ll stay at this point,” he laughs. »Five languages are enough for me. Even if there are colleagues who speak significantly more languages and at a very high level. By the way, the translators are not lone fighters at work. “This is also teamwork,” explains Tilmann Haak. »During the debates you sit in the speaker's booth with at least one colleague. Sometimes there are three or four of us. This is important for work and helps. For example, if you don't know a word while simultaneously translating, you simply press the mute button on your microphone and can then quickly ask the colleague next to you.«

Interpreters are not machines, but people. They ensure understanding on the political stage. Even if people never pay much attention to them, international politics would come to a standstill without them. Politicians often don't understand each other; People like Tilmann Haak ensure that they at least understand what they are saying.