Brussels, 12/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission's DG Translation held a conference, “Translation at the European Commission: 1958-2010, a multilingual community @work” on Friday 12 March. It presented a study on the multilingual operation of the European Union, from the days of the Economic Community of six member states to the present Union of 27 members with 23 official languages. The findings, from research in the institution's archives and contributions from over 600 officials, is the first attempt to chronicle the development of translation at the Commission from the ECSC to today's European Union. The authors show how multilingualism, one of the founding principles, has been “translated” into concrete action from the very first moments, long before it became a fully fledged policy. They also show the importance of the work of translation in bringing the citizens of Europe closer together since “the sentiment of European citizenship will come from the feeling of being understood, accepted and respected in one's own culture”. Multilingualism is also a challenge for Europe and its citizens, and for the European institutions which have had to adapt constantly to successive enlargements and to the demands placed by the linguistic regime. The use of translators and interpreters will, in future, be more widespread since it is clear that no one person can master all the languages of the EU. Translation then is a “bridge between nations, a key to understanding one another, a factor which makes the EU ever more human”. (I.L./transl.rt)