COTSOES was established:
56 services from 22 different countries are members of COTSOES. Central government translation, terminology and/or interpretation services from States outside Europe and from intergovernmental organisations may attend the Assembly as Participating Services, but are not entitled to vote. Representatives from services and institutions other than Member or Participating Services may, at the invitation of the Presidency, attend the proceedings of the Assembly as observers. The Rules of the Conference were established in 1982 in Bern in English, in French and in German. They have last been revised in 2021.
Most of the work of the Conference takes place within its Working Groups. There are four Working Groups:
The Assembly meets every two years in ordinary session. The Presidency is elected in the Assembly for a period of two years, and the outgoing Presidency assists the new Presidency to ensure continuity. The principal duties of the Presidency are:
The 21th session of the Assembly took place in Paris on 23 and 24 September 2021, chaired by the Translation Unit of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. From 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023, the Presidency will be held by the Language Service of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in Berlin.
The working languages of the Conference are English, French and German. If the Presidency is unable to arrange interpretation at the Assembly, it can request assistance from Member Services. The working groups’ reports are prepared in all three languages.
Andrew Sims
Head of Language Service
presidency@cotsoes.org
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Language Service
10115 Berlin
Germany