EU constitution translation full of errors

  • 2005-02-02
  • By TBT staff
RIGA - The Latvian translation of the EU Constitutional Treaty is so riddled with errors that the government had to withdraw it from consideration by Parliament. The Foreign Ministry, together with the state-run Translation and Terminology Center, will form a common working group to address the reported 160 substantial and 350 editorial mistakes. They will send the new text along with a recent list of mistakes to the Council of Ministers by Feb. 14.

The initial translation was made by three translators, one of which has already resigned according to Justice Minister Solvita Aboltina. The Foreign Ministry plans to end printing and distribution of the troubled translation.

Lithuania became the first EU member to approve the constitution in November of last year without a referendum. Latvia and Estonia are expected to also accept the treaty with a vote in Parliament. All EU members are expected to ratify the treaty by October 2006.