Organisation of high-quality master or post-graduate courses in conference interpreting 2026-2027

European Parliament call EP-LINC-SUBV funds the organisation of high-quality master or postgraduate courses in conference interpreting with an indicative Topic 1 budget of €450,000 to strengthen the pipeline of interpreters for EU institutions. Eligible applicants are higher-education institutions, universities, consortia, and recognised associations established in EU Member States, EFTA states or specified candidate countries, and actions must meet strict postgraduate training quality standards. The grant is budget-based with up to 75% co-financing, eligible direct and indirect costs defined, 70% pre-financing and balance paid after final reporting, and a non-profit principle applies. Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal by 7 May 2026, 17:00 Brussels time, and will be evaluated against relevance to EP language priorities, training quality, graduate outcomes, technical capacity and project management.

Organisation of high-quality master or post-graduate courses in conference interpreting 2026-2027

Call at a glance

What it funds

Grants to support organisation, improvement and cooperation of conference interpreting training (master, post-graduate and selected bachelor courses), development of centres of excellence, regional cooperation and integration of digital/virtual training tools. Actions may include course delivery, staff mobility, equipment and pedagogical innovation.

Who can apply:Higher education institutions, universities and university institutes; consortia and associations of such bodies; associations and bodies whose main mission is to support cooperation and best practice in conference interpreter training.

Key financial facts

Indicative topic budgets and timing are below. The European Parliament normally funds up to 75% of eligible costs; a single pre-financing instalment of 70% is foreseen. Final grant amounts are calculated on approved eligible expenditure and may not create profit. Deadline: 07 May 2026 17:00 Brussels time.

1. 1Topic 1: Organisation of high-quality master or post-graduate courses in conference interpreting (indicative total budget €450,000)
2. 2Topic 2: Supporting excellence, cooperation or research in interpreter training (indicative total budget €150,000)
3. 3Topic 3: Courses offering conference interpreting in Ukrainian, Montenegrin and Albanian (indicative total budget €150,000)

Scope and priorities: projects must address quality and linguistic diversity in EU official languages and priority language combinations defined by DG LINC; Topic 3 targets Ukrainian, Montenegrin and Albanian. See language priorities and full topic descriptions in the call documents.

Eligibility & selection highlights:Eligible applicants must be legally established in an EU Member State, EFTA or EU candidate country. Proposals are evaluated on relevance to Parliament needs, quality of training design, technical capacity, impact and management. Applicants must meet exclusion and financial capacity checks.

Apply via the Funding & Tenders Portal topic page and submit the specific application form available in the Submission System. Required documents include the call document, application form, detailed budget and staff hourly-rate calculations ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Call documentation, application templates and the Submission System entry are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal topic page: EU Funding & Tenders Portal: EP-LINC-SUBV-2026-CONF-INT-01.

Organisation of high-quality master or post-graduate courses in conference interpreting 2026-2027 (EP-LINC-SUBV-2026-CONF-INT-01)

Programme: European Parliament — FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR TRAINING IN CONFERENCE INTERPRETING (EP-LINC-SUBV-2026-CONF-INT). Type of action: EP-PJG EP Project Grants. Model Grant Agreement: EP Action Grant Budget-Based [EP-AG]. Opening date: 19 March 2026. Deadline: 07 May 2026, 17:00 Brussels time. Call page: EP-LINC-SUBV-2026-CONF-INT-01 Topic Page. Core call documents and templates (application forms, budget tools, grant agreement, guides) are available via the Funding & Tenders Portal and the European Parliament’s grants page.

Expected Outcomes and Objectives

Expected outcome: Ensure a sufficient pool of highly qualified conference interpreters available to the European Parliament and, increasingly, to other EU institutions and bodies, enabling full multilingual operation at meetings and events worldwide.

Objectives: Strengthen postgraduate interpreter training through professional and financial support, aligned with EP-identified priority language combinations and skills. The programme supports: promoting quality and linguistic diversity of conference interpreting teaching in EU, candidate, and main political partner languages; establishing postgraduate centres of excellence and/or research; fostering cooperation among postgraduate courses across EU, candidate and third countries; regional university cooperation; and integrating modern information and communication technologies in interpreter training.

Scope and Who Can Apply

Scope: Support to higher education actors organising or coordinating master or post-graduate conference interpreting courses in academic year 2026-2027.

• Higher-Education Institutions, Universities, university institutes, consortia and associations of universities or institutes offering or coordinating postgraduate courses specialising in conference interpreting.
• Associations, consortia and bodies whose main mission is to support cooperation and disseminate best practices in worldwide conference interpreter training.

Institutional requirements for teaching establishments: approved by national authorities as public or private bodies with a public task to teach and organise courses at master or postgraduate level in conference interpreting. Non-teaching applicants must have a mission aligned with programme objectives and be recognised by national authorities where established.

Financials and Call Budget

Indicative total budget for Topic 1 EP-LINC-SUBV: €450,000. The EP co-financing rate is up to 75% of eligible costs. Grants are non-profit, non-cumulative, and based on reimbursement of actual eligible costs with a 7% flat-rate for indirect costs on top of eligible direct costs A–F.

Payments: 70% pre-financing after both parties sign the grant agreement; balance paid within 60 days after acceptance of the final technical and financial reports. Final grant amount is determined by applying the co-financing rate to the approved final eligible expenditures and cannot exceed the maximum grant amount.

Timeline (Indicative)

Priority Languages and Training Quality Requirements

Applicants should target the European Parliament’s priority active languages (A) for 2026/2027. Priority list: 1st: DA, EN, GA, MT, UK, CG, SQ; 2nd: BG, DE, EL, ES, HU, SV; 3rd: CS, FI, FR, HR, IT, NL, PT, SK; 4th: ET, LT, LV, PL, RO, SL; 5th: other candidate country languages: BS, MK, TR, SR, KA. See: Language priorities 2026/27.

• Course level and duration: postgraduate level; all entrants must hold at least a BA or equivalent; total duration 1–2 academic years; 60–120 ECTS.
• Pedagogy and delivery: courses designed and taught by practising conference interpreters; mandatory aptitude test for admission.
• Training load: at least 400 hours of training; minimum 70% of the total devoted to practical interpreter training; at least 400 hours of self-training.
• Curriculum content: interpreting theory; public speaking; knowledge of international institutions; foundational economics and law; a dedicated EU interpretation module focusing on interpretation for the EU institutions.
• Assessment and certification: final diploma only awarded if competence in both consecutive and simultaneous interpreting across all working language combinations is successfully demonstrated. Final examination juries should include external assessors who are practising conference interpreters; at least one assessor must have the target language as their A language.

Evaluation and Award Criteria (Topic 1)

Proposals that meet eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria will be scored out of 100 points:

1. 1Relevance to EP/EU institutional needs and priority languages: max 25 points.
2. 2Implementation of postgraduate training requirements meeting accepted quality standards (EMCI or similar): max 25 points.
3. 3Experience and graduates’ employment record for EU Interpretation Services and contribution to the interpreter pool: max 25 points.
4. 4Technical operational capacity and use of innovative training technologies: max 15 points.
5. 5Cooperation with other universities (notably with candidate countries): max 5 points.
6. 6Quality and efficiency of project management, including budget appropriateness: max 5 points.

Newly established courses are not assessed on criterion 3; maximum total points in that case is 75. Proposals must achieve at least 60% of the maximum points to be considered for funding. Ranking lists are established per topic; unspent funds under one topic may be reallocated to others.

Eligible Costs, Budgeting and Financial Rules (Key Points)

• Eligible direct costs include: staff costs assigned to the action (internal and external, including preparation time up to 1 hour per teaching hour), travel and subsistence linked to the project, equipment depreciation/rental for project use, consumables and supplies used exclusively for the action, direct costs of conferences/seminars/workshops, and subcontracting when justified and procured according to best value for money.
• Indirect costs: flat rate up to 7% of total eligible direct costs A–F; cannot overlap with direct cost items.
• Co-financing: EP covers up to 75% of total eligible costs; beneficiaries must fund the remainder via own resources and/or other revenues (e.g. tuition fees, public support, private sponsors). Double funding of the same costs from EU sources is prohibited.
• Payments: 70% pre-financing upon entry into force; balance after approval of final reports.
• Reporting: final technical report and final financial statement within 60 days after project end; retain original supporting documents and signed timesheets for five years (three years if maximum grant ≤ €60,000).
• Procurement and subcontracting: award contracts on best value for money; avoid conflicts of interest; ensure applicable provisions flow down to contractors/subcontractors.
• Equipment: only the portion of depreciation and usage attributable to the project period and actual use may be charged; purchase must occur within the eligibility period.

Submission and Process

• Submission is electronic only via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission Service; paper submissions are not accepted.
• Application consists of Part A (online administrative and summary budget) and Part B (narrative, detailed budget, annexes; uploaded as PDF).
• Single-stage evaluation. Applicants must confirm mandate to act and compliance with eligibility, exclusion, operational and financial capacity requirements.
• Queries on EP-LINC calls: linc.grants@europarl.europa.eu (deadline for questions typically two weeks before call deadline).
• Partner search is available on the Portal; LEARs and authorised users can publish partner requests.

Templates and Required Annexes (Topic 1)

Applicants must use the official templates available via the Submission System and EP grants page. Core items include:

• Application Form Topic 1 — Post-graduate course (Part A online; Part B upload). Structure highlights:
• Section I: Identification — Applicant details; legal representative; project manager; finance officer; VAT status; partner institutions (if any) and their roles; financial support from other EU programmes (past/current/parallel).
• Section II: Project Description — Title; duration (including preparation and finalisation); timeline (promotion, enrolment, admission tests, start/end, instruction weeks, exams); languages and combinations (A/B/C; retour); course type and ECTS; staff profiles and CVs (Annex III); admission criteria and aptitude test methods; course plan by semester with hours and ECTS; self-training access and quantification; non-linguistic modules; final exam design and juries; graduate record and employment outcomes; technical capacity and ICT tools (speech repositories, VLEs, virtual classes, RSI platforms); cooperation/mobility; project management and quality monitoring.
• Section III: Budget — Table 1: Overview of expected expenditure (A–G) and Table 2: Overview of expected income (requested EP grant; own contributions; partner contributions; student fees; other public/private sources). Table 3: Contributions per partner (if applicable). Table 4: Detailed cost breakdowns (A: Staff; B: Travel & subsistence; C: Equipment with depreciation; D: Consumables; E: Events; F: Other direct; G: Indirect 7% flat rate).
• Section IV: Annexes — I: Financial Identification Form; II: Recognition by national authority (or, for new applicants, proof); III: CVs of key staff; IV: Financial capacity documents (or public body exemption); V: Detailed staff hourly rate calculations using the official Excel template.
• Section V: Declaration — Signed by the authorised legal representative confirming eligibility, selection, exclusion and absence of double funding.
• Staff Costs Hourly Rate Calculation (Excel) — Columns for annual gross salary, obligatory social charges, annual personnel cost, workable hours/year, hourly rate, hours on action, total cost.
• Model Time Sheet (Excel) — Monthly record of hours per task category (coordination/administration, internal/external teaching, speakers, external/internal examiners, other project-related); absences and signatures.
• Draft Grant Agreement (Special and General Conditions), General Conditions (Annex II), Final Report templates (Annex IV A technical and IV B financial), Declaration on Honour, Guide for Applicants, Rules for Legal Entity Validation and LEAR appointment.

Categorisation and Structured Information

Eligible Applicant Types:University, higher-education institution, university institute, consortium of universities, association of universities or institutes in conference interpreting; associations, consortia and bodies dedicated to cooperation and best-practice dissemination in conference interpreter training. Public bodies or private bodies with a public-task mandate in postgraduate interpreting training; non-teaching bodies must have a mission aligned with the programme and be nationally recognised.

Funding Type:Grant (EP Project Grant; budget-based action grant).

Consortium Requirement:Single applicant is permitted. Consortia and associations are eligible but not mandatory. Partnerships and regional cooperation are encouraged and positively scored.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Applicants must be legally established in an EU Member State, an EFTA country (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland), or an EU candidate country (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine).

Target Sector:Education and training; language services; culture and multilingualism; public sector support for EU institutions. Strong focus on interpreter training pedagogy, curriculum quality, and technology-enhanced learning (e.g., virtual classes, digital speech repositories, remote simultaneous interpreting platforms).

Mentioned Countries:EU Member States; Iceland; Liechtenstein; Norway; Switzerland; Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Georgia; Moldova; Montenegro; North Macedonia; Serbia; Türkiye; Ukraine.

Project Stage:Implementation and delivery of master or postgraduate courses in conference interpreting in academic year 2026–2027, including curriculum delivery, examinations, and graduate outcomes; integration and demonstration of ICT-enabled training where relevant.

Funding Amount:Indicative total budget for Topic 1 is €450,000 for 2026. Individual grant sizes vary by project scope and eligible budget; based on recent awards (2025–2026) Topic 1 grants ranged approximately from €34,000 to €100,000 per beneficiary. Maximum EP co-funding rate is 75% of eligible costs.

Application Type:Open call; single-stage submission and evaluation via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System.

Nature of Support:Money (action grant). Non-financial elements include EP monitoring and possible participation in examination panels and project-related meetings.

Application Stages:1 stage (single-stage call with one full proposal submission and single-step evaluation).

Success Rates:Success rates are not published for this topic. As context, the EP publishes annual lists of awarded grants; in 2025–2026, Topic 1 funded multiple beneficiaries with awards in the €34,000–100,000 range, within the available envelope.

Co-funding Requirement:Yes. EP funding covers up to 75% of total eligible costs. The remaining minimum 25% must be provided by the beneficiary and/or other sources (e.g., student fees, public funding, private sponsors). Double funding of the same costs by EU sources is prohibited.

Detailed Award and Compliance Requirements

• Exclusion: Standard grounds apply (bankruptcy, misconduct, tax/social security breaches, fraud, corruption, criminal organisation, etc.). Applicants must not be subject to EU restrictive measures.
• Selection: Financial capacity (stable and adequate resources commensurate to project scale/duration); technical-operational capacity (qualified trainers, project management, logistical infrastructure and financial controls).
• Grant agreement obligations: Allow EP representatives to participate in examination panels and project meetings; inform EP of events affecting implementation; provide requested administrative and performance data; respect visibility and communication rules acknowledging EP co-funding.
• Reporting and audits: Retain supporting documents; EP, OLAF and Court of Auditors may conduct checks and audits during implementation and up to five years after balance payment.

Practical Budgeting and Costing Notes

• Staff costing: compute hourly rates from actual annual gross salary plus obligatory social charges divided by workable annual hours; include preparation time up to a 1:1 ratio with teaching hours; maintain signed monthly timesheets.
• Equipment: charge depreciation proportionally to project period and usage; rental/lease allowed if not exceeding equivalent depreciation; installation/maintenance/insurance pro-rated for project use are eligible.
• Travel and subsistence: economy fares; per diems/hotel costs per institutional policy; clearly link to project tasks and identify travellers, routes, and durations.
• Events: separate organisation costs from participant/speaker travel and subsistence in the budget.
• Income: declare all direct revenues (e.g., student fees) and other co-financing; ensure budget balance and no-profit principle.

Support, Guidance and Key Links

• Topic page and submission: Funding & Tenders Portal — Topic 01
• Call document and annexes (application forms, budget tools, grant agreement, guides): via the Topic page and EP grants page EP DG LINC Grants
• Online Manual: EU Funding & Tenders Online Manual
• Contact for EP-LINC calls: linc.grants@europarl.europa.eu

Long Summary

This European Parliament call funds the organisation and delivery of high-quality master or postgraduate courses in conference interpreting for academic year 2026–2027. It responds to EP operational needs for a robust pipeline of accredited conference interpreters covering a wide range of active languages, with clear priority lists. Eligible applicants include universities, higher education institutions and their consortia or associations, as well as relevant bodies that coordinate and promote interpreter training globally. Projects must be postgraduate-level and meet stringent quality criteria: clear admission testing, substantial practical training components in both consecutive and simultaneous modes, strong self-training expectations, a robust theoretical and professional curriculum, and final assessments conducted with external practising interpreters. Innovation and ICT integration (e.g., virtual classes, digital speech banks, remote platforms) are encouraged and positively scored. Proposals are submitted in a single stage via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, and evaluated against relevance, pedagogical quality, graduate outcomes, technical capacity and cooperation. The indicative envelope for Topic 1 is €450,000, with the EP co-funding up to 75% of eligible costs; typical individual grants (based on recent cycles) have ranged from tens of thousands up to around €100,000, depending on scope and eligible budget. Beneficiaries receive 70% pre-financing and a balance after final reporting. Eligible costs include personnel (with hourly rate calculations and timesheets), travel, equipment depreciation, consumables, events, and a 7% flat-rate for indirect costs. The programme favours cross-institutional cooperation and alignment with EP language priorities, ensuring that EU institutions can continue to function in full multilingual mode with a sufficient pool of highly qualified interpreters.

EU Funding Opportunity: Organisation of High-Quality Master or Post-Graduate Courses in Conference Interpreting 2026-2027

Overview

This call EP-LINC-SUBV under the FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR TRAINING IN CONFERENCE INTERPRETING programme provides grants to support high-quality postgraduate interpreter training aligned with European Parliament needs. The total indicative budget is €450,000 for 2026. Grants aim to ensure a sufficient pool of qualified conference interpreters for EU institutions, particularly the European Parliament, amid linguistic diversity requirements.

Objectives and Expected Outcomes

Objectives include promoting quality and linguistic diversity in conference interpreting teaching across EU official languages, candidate countries, and key partners; establishing postgraduate centres of excellence/research; fostering cooperation among courses in Europe, candidate/third countries; enabling regional university cooperation; and integrating modern ICT in training. Expected outcomes: strengthened training programmes producing interpreters recruitable by EU institutions as officials or accredited agents.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants: Higher-education institutions, universities, university institutes, consortia, and associations offering/coordinating postgraduate courses in conference interpreting; associations/consortia/bodies supporting global interpreter training cooperation/best practices. Must be legally established in EU Member States, EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland), or EU candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine). Teaching establishments require national authority approval for public/private teaching tasks at postgraduate level.

• No EU restrictive measures under TEU Art. 29 or TFEU Art. 215.
• Compliance with admissibility (proposal limits/layout), eligible countries, other eligibility, financial/operational capacity, exclusion criteria per call document sections 4-7.

Key Deadlines and Timeline

Key Dates:Opening: 19 March 2026; Deadline: 7 May 2026, 17:00 Brussels time (single-stage submission). Evaluation: June-July 2026; Results notification: End July 2026; Grant agreements: July-October 2026; Project start: Not before application submission; End: 31 August 2027 max (exceptions justified).

Funding Details

Maximum co-financing: 75% of total eligible costs (no profit allowed; income/expenditure balanced). Pre-financing: 70% within 30 days of signed agreement; Balance: Within 60 days of approved final reports. Type: EP Action Grant Budget-Based (EP-AG). Eligible costs: Direct (staff, travel, equipment depreciation, consumables, conferences, other) + indirect (max 7% of direct eligible). Ineligible: Capital return, debt, provisions, interest, VAT (if recoverable), double-funded costs.

Award Criteria (Topic 1 - Max 100 points; min 60% threshold)

1. 1Relevance to EP/EU language priorities (25 pts): 1st: DA/EN/GA/MT/UK/CG/SQ; 2nd: BG/DE/EL/ES/HU/SV; 3rd: CS/FI/FR/HR/IT/NL/PT/SK; 4th: ET/LT/LV/PL/RO/SL; 5th: BS/MK/TR/SR/KA.
2. 2Postgraduate training standards (25 pts): EMCI-like; 60-120 ECTS; 400+ hrs training (70% practical); aptitude tests; external examiners.
3. 3Experience/graduate employment record for EU services (25 pts; N/A for new courses).
4. 4Technical capacity/innovative tech (15 pts).
5. 5University cooperation esp. candidate countries (5 pts).
6. 6Project management/budget quality (5 pts).

Application Process

Electronic submission only via Funding & Tenders Portal (single-stage). Forms: Part A (online admin/budget summary); Part B (PDF: detailed form, budget Annex III, CVs). Languages: EU official (English/French advised). Include: Declaration on Honour, Financial ID Form (if changed), national recognition proof (new applicants), financial capacity docs, hourly rate calcs (Excel). Start submission via portal EU Funding Portal.

Evaluation and Selection

Admissibility/Eligibility/Exclusion/Selection per call sections 4-7. Award: Independent Committee (min 3 DG LINC officials); ranked lists per topic; threshold 60%; budget reallocation possible. Timeline per call section 3.

Key Documents and Resources

• Call Document (PDF): Full rules Call Document.
• Application Forms: Topic-specific (portal).
• Budget/Staff Excel: Hourly rates/timesheets.
• Guide for Applicants: Budgeting/reporting.
• Work Programme 2026: Objectives.
• Previous Q&A: Common issues Q&A Previous.
• Grants Awarded 2025: Examples 2025 Awards.
• Language Priorities: Ranked lists Priorities.
• Webinar: 20/03/2026 (link in portal).
• Contact: linc.grants@europarl.europa.eu.

Previous Awards Insight

2025 awards (Topic 1): €272K to 4 unis (e.g. ELTE Hungary €55K, ZHAW Switzerland €100K). Total programme: €799K across topics. Demonstrates competitive selection; max grants ~€100K.

Risks and Tips

• Detailed budgets essential; uniform rates discouraged.
• Prioritise EP language needs for higher scores.
• Timesheets/invoices retained 5 yrs post-payment.
• No retrospective funding pre-submission.
• Amendments needed for >10% budget shifts.
• Non-profit: Revenues ≤ eligible costs.

Portal: EP Funding Portal. Contact: linc.grants@europarl.europa.eu (Q&A by 22/04/2026). ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Data from official EP portal and documents (March 2026). Verify latest via portal.