Published at the end of October by Paperjam, an article devoted to the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT), based in Luxembourg, reported on a situation considered worrying by some of the staff. Work overload, psychological fatigue, a deteriorating internal climate and a lack of recognition were among the issues raised, based in particular on an internal survey conducted in spring 2025.
Published at the end of October by Paperjam, an article devoted to the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT), based in Luxembourg, reported on a situation considered worrying by some of the staff. Work overload, psychological fatigue, a deteriorating internal climate and a lack of recognition were among the issues raised, based in particular on an internal survey conducted in spring 2025.
On 5 November 2025, Luxembourg MEP 
In its reply dated 5 January 2026, the European Commission, represented by the commissioner for Budget, Anti-fraud and Public Administration, Piotr Serafin, points out that the CdT is “an autonomous decentralised body of the European Union (EU)”, operating “in the context of the multiannual financial framework” and with “fixed and constant resources to help the EU agencies and institutions meet their commitment to multilingualism”.
It also stresses that the Centre “reports to its Management Board”, on which the Commission has “two representatives [from among the 72 members]”. On the basis of the information to which it has access, the European executive states that this “does not indicate either a particularly high turnover of staff or general dissatisfaction among staff”. Consequently, it concludes, “the Commission is not in a position to confirm the assertions contained in the article”.
To say that [the Commission] is not aware of anything is difficult to justify, since several recipients were copied.
An answer that provoked a reaction from Sorin Cristescu, representative of the Union syndicale Luxembourg (USL): “To say that [the Commission] is not aware of anything is difficult to justify, since several recipients were copied. In this respect, their response is very surprising.
MEP Fernand Kartheiser was not entirely satisfied either: “As so often, the response was very superficial. I will be writing to the Luxembourg Minister for Foreign Affairs about this.” He added: “I don’t know what the Commission is or isn’t aware of. But I think it should make an effort to investigate, in a neutral way, the grievances raised by CdT staff.”
Employees decry: “The European Commission should at least have opened an investigation into the serious accusations made by the union […]. But this was not done. We have reached levels where the European Commission is covering up the mismanagement, abuse of power and nepotism of one of its agencies, by turning a deaf ear…”
“Encouraging” and “providing assistance”, without questioning
While not acknowledging the existence of a structural problem, the European Commission “encourages the Centre to carry out staff well-being surveys at regular intervals, to follow up the results and to report them to the management board”.
It also says it is “ready to assist the organisation”, mentioning in particular the possibility of “offering the Centre’s staff psychological support as part of a service level agreement”.
Finally, Brussels mentions that “ongoing discussions between the European Commission and the decentralised bodies aim to enable the staff of these bodies to benefit from the same level of protection against harassment as European Commission staff”, referring to decision C (2023) 8630 on the prevention of psychological and sexual harassment.
The CdT denies the accusations
Contacted, the CdT denies all the accusations made in our October 2025 article. It states that it “does not agree with the statements and messages” reported in the article, believing that they “are not supported by the results of the surveys” regularly conducted internally among staff in recent years. The Centre states that “ensuring a fair, transparent and effective working environment” is central to its long-term strategy, both in terms of sustainability and impact. It says it has introduced or strengthened a number of measures, including ergonomic improvements to workstations, wider well-being initiatives, and training and professional development.
The CdT also highlights the recent adoption of a new human resources strategy, presented as aiming to improve staff well-being and workforce management. It says it is continuing efforts to “improve processes to alleviate unnecessary workload pressures”.
With regard to internal surveys, the Centre says that the staff survey conducted in 2025 recorded a participation rate “close to 80%”, comparable to that in 2023. According to the CoT, the 2025 results show “a stable continuation of the positive trends observed in 2023”, with “a slight improvement in several areas”. It adds that the majority of staff would report “good conditions of well-being, a manageable workload and a good spirit of collegiality”.
The Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT) is based in Luxembourg. (Photo: Pancake! photography/archives)
Finally, the Centre states that workload indicators and production and revision targets are regularly monitored, based on operational data, quality requirements and staff feedback. Any adjustments would be made “on a factual basis” and in consultation with the departments concerned and staff representatives.
For employees, neither an improvement nor a deterioration
One employee said: “For my part, there have been no real changes in these three months. My impression was that the Centre’s attitude was not defensive, confrontational or in denial; rather, they were committed to addressing the concerns and said they would arrange a meeting about it, but I can’t remember when it took place.”
Another employee said: “A staff meeting did take place to discuss the issues. However, the agenda was changed to include the latest staff survey, the Centre’s future strategy and the budget. Employee well-being was therefore relegated to the end of the meeting and not really discussed.”
These testimonials are echoed in an internal document consulted by Paperjam on translators’ workloads. This document states that last November, described as a “busy month”, translators reached an average rate of around 16 full-time equivalent pages per day, due to the urgency of some complex projects and the absence of several members of staff.
The document stresses that this level of workload could “have an impact on the quality of services provided to customers as well as on the Centre’s reputation”. In particular, it recommends that the CoT be more proactive in planning work for November and December, taking into account holiday periods.
An employee added: “There have been no real changes internally, it’s all the same. And we have several colleagues absent due to sick leave.”
USL representative Cristescu comments: “The general impression is that the pressure has eased somewhat.” One employee added that “the workload has decreased, [a trend] mainly due to a drop in customer requests”.
A second employee explains: “We are offered sessions with sophrologists, psychologists and even rest rooms or massages, but we don’t have the time to go. These proposed wellness methods don’t treat the problem at source.”
A third stresses: “It’s true that we have higher salaries compared to the rest of Europe. But you have to put things in context with the cost of living in Luxembourg and the benefits offered in other European institutions. What’s more, a high salary does not justify poor working conditions.”
A potential conflict of interest
Following the departure of the former director, Ildikó Horváth, the CdT is now headed by Mauro Bubnic, who has been appointed interim director by the board of directors. Until now, he was head of the Operations Management Department. The recruitment procedure for a new director is underway, with no precise timetable at this stage.
The former director has joined the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation (DG Translation) as deputy director. In this capacity, she will sit on the CdT’s management board as the Commission’s representative.
This is the very definition [of conflict of interest]: [the former director] is going to judge what she herself has done.
In her new role, Ildikó Horváth will also be involved in evaluating the Centre for the period 2019–2023, corresponding to the years during which she was its director. This situation has raised questions among some members of staff about a potential conflict of interest, as the evaluation will cover a period during her own term of office.
In response to questions on this point, the CdT points out that issues relating to conflicts of interest are covered by the European Commission’s ethical rules and procedures. It states that the current evaluation “is not limited to the mandate of the former director”, that it is based on “objective data and factual findings” and that it will follow a formal consultation and adoption process, in line with the principles of “better regulation”.
Mr Cristescu explains: “That’s the very definition [of conflict of interest]: she’s going to judge what she did herself.”
(In the interests of protecting sources and in order to guarantee the anonymity of the people who agreed to testify, all quotes have been anonymised and written in the masculine singular, regardless of the gender of the interviewees).
