The European Commission has terminated its cooperation with a translator who worked during EU summits over concerns about possible breaches of security rules.
The decision is related to the situation that arose with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting of the European Council, Politico writes.
The translator took notes during the European Council meeting
The European Commission confirmed that the incident took place on 19 December 2024, during a closed meeting of the European Council, attended by Volodymyr Zelensky.
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According to official information, the translator kept written notes, which is a direct violation of internal rules.
In accordance with the European Commission's code of conduct, any written notes are prohibited during meetings where defence and security issues are discussed.
Such restrictions are put in place for security reasons, in particular to prevent espionage or leaking of confidential information to hostile states such as Russia.
The notes were immediately confiscated. After carefully examining the facts, the Commission took appropriate measures to prevent such an incident from recurring. In this particular case, it was decided that the services of this interpreter would no longer be used in the future, the EC said in a statement.
According to the French publication Le Monde, the translator was a freelancer hired to facilitate communications between EU leaders and the Ukrainian president.
EU steps up security measures
This situation has occurred against the backdrop of a general strengthening of security measures within European institutions. In recent years, the EU has been investigating a number of cases related to suspected espionage.
In 2023, European Commission staff were officially warned of a “real” threat from foreign agents. That same year, the European Parliament imposed sanctions on former Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka, who was suspected of collaborating with the Russian FSB.
In response to such threats, Brussels is strengthening internal controls and increasingly monitoring compliance with security procedures by all employees, including temporary workers.
