The European Parliament reflects the linguistic diversity of Europe. It is the only genuinely multilingual parliament, with its work being conducted in the 23 official languages of the EU. Every contribution in the European Parliament – be it in committee or at a plenary session – is made exclusively in the speaker’s own language and is simultaneously translated into all the other official languages. If the Parliament failed to respect and to make consistent use of all the official languages then it could not represent the EU’s citizens and would not be able to communicate with them. Interpreting in this context is extremely demanding, as the interpreter must interpret what is said very quickly and accurately, so that the debate among deputies can proceed fluently and understandably. Within this legislative body that consistently respects the principle of multilingualism, it could be said that deputies do not debate with each other but rather with interpreters. The quality of interpreting or use of language is thus essential to the success of the legislative process. In 2006 there were 90,000 days of interpreting carried out in the European Parliament, which far exceeds anything similar elsewhere in the world. The Directorate General for Infrastructure and Interpretation has 300 regularly employed interpreters, but