Provision of translation services of term lists and application labels in various fields

The tender referenced as CDT/2025/OP/0001 is seeking providers for translation services of term lists and application labels between English and various languages. The Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union is the contracting authority for this procedure. The target languages encompass all 24 official EU languages as well as eight non-EU languages, including Albanian and Turkish.

This procurement opportunity falls under the category of service contracts rather than grants and has a total estimated value of €200,000 for a maximum duration of 48 months. Applications are open to economic operators such as translation agencies and language service providers established in EU member states and certain Balkan countries under specific agreements.

The tender will be evaluated based on quality, which accounts for 70% of the selection criteria, and price, which accounts for 30%. The submission process involves multiple stages, including electronic tender preparations that require adherence to specified documentation and regulatory requirements. Applicants are required to demonstrate significant translation experience, with a minimum of 500 standard pages translated for various language combinations.

Importantly, the deadline for sending tenders is June 18, 2025, and submissions must be completed electronically via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. The structure of the offer allows for multiple contract renewals, subject to the successful performance in delivering the required translation services. There is no co-funding requirement, and no specific success rates are indicated in the provided information. The tender process is aimed at ensuring compliance with EU visibility standards for funded actions.

This is a call for tenders, reference number CDT/2025/OP/0001, for the provision of translation services of term lists and application labels in various fields. The Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT) is the lead contracting authority. The services relate to the work of various EU bodies and institutions. The source language is English, and the target languages include all official EU languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish. The target languages also include the following non-EU official languages: Albanian, Bosnian, Icelandic, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Norwegian, Serbian, and Turkish.

The procedure type is an open procedure, and submissions must be electronic. The estimated total value of the tender is 200,000 EUR. The TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) publication date is 07/05/2025, with reference number 88/2025 292034-2025. The nature of the contract is for services, with a maximum contract duration of 48 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio, and the framework agreement is a framework agreement without reopening of competition.

Selection criteria include: Suitability to pursue the professional activity, Economic and financial standing, and Technical and professional ability. Further details on these criteria can be found in the procurement documents.

Key milestones include: TED publication date: 07/05/2025, Date and time of public opening: 19/06/2025 10:30 Europe/Luxembourg, Deadline for receipt of tenders: 18/06/2025 10:00 Europe/Luxembourg, and the Contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after: 10/06/2025 05:00 Europe/Luxembourg.

The available documents include: ENEN-Invitation to tender CDT2025OP0001 CdT2025TERM25Invitation letter, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Tender specifications, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Draft FWC, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Annex 3 - Agreement-Power of Attorney, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Annex 4 - List of identified subcontractors, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Annex 5.1 - Commitment letter subcontractor, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Annex 5.2 - Commitment letter entity, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Annex 6 - Financial Tender, ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Annex 7 - Professional experience of the tenderer (T1), and ENCDT-2025-OP-0001 (TERM25) - Annex 8 - Managerial team - online form (T2).

Some frequently asked questions (FAQ) and their answers include:

Evidence of non-exclusion should be uploaded with the tender, and Annex 2 should be uploaded in the folder named ‘DoH’ in eSubmission. There is no mandatory requirement that tenders shall be drafted in only one language. For 2-3 language combinations, relying on one translation agency is acceptable. The signature of Annex 8 by the authorised representative is not mandatory. CVs and diplomas for freelance translators are not required, but signed CVs are required for each of the proposed managerial staff (model in Annex 9). If participating as a sole tenderer, there is no need to fill in Annexes 3, 4, 5.1 and 5.2. Annex 4 should only include information about identified subcontractors. Tenderers are requested to fill in the online registration form in the Translation Centre's Call for Tenders Portal. Annexes 3, 4 and 5.1 can be uploaded either under ‘Legal-Reg’ or under ‘Identification of the participant’. Annex 7 should be uploaded in the folder ‘Tech-Prof’. The maximum limit of “additional pages” of translation experience above the minimum that will be considered for evaluation will be 5,000 standard pages. There is no fixed limit for a label in terms of words or characters, but one page corresponds to 10 terms. Tenders can be prepared in several EU languages. Compliance with the international ISO17100 standard is not compulsory. In the award phase, the first asset (translation experience above the minimum required) consists in the number of additional standard pages of general translation experience. The Translation Centre is unable to give any accurate estimate of the likely volume of work to be covered by this contract. When tasks are assigned, the provider has, generally, up to two hours to confirm the acceptance of the task. Feedback on quality will be given based on the elements contained in the standard assessment sheet (Annex IV to the draft framework contract). Self hosted cloud storage and AI tools means that either these IT storage and tools are stored on the tenderer premise servers or in a private cloud, and all processing must take place within the EU. Certificates of experience are in the interest of the tenderer to provide as evidence of additional pages of translation experience above the minimum required. Customer reference letters can come from other translation bureaus, provided that such certificates do not fall under the category of “certificates issued by third parties”, as defined in section 3.2.3 (criterion T1) of the tender specifications. Freelance translators who will perform translation tasks amounting to less than 10% of the contract are not considered subcontractors/identified subcontractors. If the financial year closes on 31.12 of each year, annual reports for 2023 and 2022 can be submitted. The Certificate from the Registry of Commerce and the VAT registration number would be sufficient proof to cover the third bullet point in section 3.2.1 of the tender specifications. Tenderers shall provide one table per each language combination in Annex 10, including the most relevant language sources for each language combination. Tenderers must prove that they have translation experience of at least 500 standard pages in each of the 18 EU and each of the 4 non-EU language combinations. “Managerial staff” refers to tenderers’ members of staff with managerial responsibilities in the implementation of the contract and the services. All Annexes in editable format are published and available for download in the Funding & Tenders Portal. There are no specific time limitations that apply to the provision of translation services required under this call for tenders regarding customer reference letters. Annex 9 – Curriculum Vitae is the template that needs to be used for the managerial staff, and CVs shall be filled in and signed by each person involved. EUR 200,000 is the overall value of the procedure and represents the maximum amount that the Translation Centre engages to spend over four years to cover all purchases under this call. Economic operators established in North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are eligible to apply for this call for tender under the Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA). The sentence in point 3.2.3 means 500 standard pages in each of the 18 EU and each of the 4 non-EU language combinations. There is no minimum number of managerial staff and no specific educational background or experiential requirements for this role. TERMINOLOGY23 and TERM25 are two separate tender procedures. In the first phase of the evaluation procedure, the Evaluation Committee assesses whether tenderers meet the selection criteria.

The eSubmission system supports the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. The maximum file size for attachments is 50 MB. The maximum number of documents that can be uploaded per tender is 200 files. It is mandatory to register for a PIC (Personal Identification Code) if you intend to submit a tender or a request to participate. The system is multilingual and supports all 24 official EU languages. The character set encoding is UTF-8. The system encrypts all uploaded documents, using an asymmetric key as an encryption mechanism. Until the deadline for the submission has been reached, submissions in the draft status can be edited, viewed and deleted.

In summary, this tender is an invitation for translation service providers to bid for a framework contract with the Translation Centre of the European Union. The contract involves translating term lists and application labels from English into a wide range of EU and non-EU languages. The tender is open to companies established in the EU and certain associated countries. Tenderers will need to demonstrate sufficient translation experience and technical capacity, and the award will be based on the best price-quality ratio. The estimated total value of the contract is 200,000 EUR over a four-year period. The tender documents and all submissions must be made electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The deadline for submitting tenders is 18/06/2025.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but are implied to be economic operators, translation agencies, or Language Service Providers (LSPs) capable of providing translation services. The eligibility extends to companies established in North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo under the Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA).

Funding Type: Procurement, specifically a call for tenders.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity is open to both single applicants and consortia. Annexes 3, 4, 5.1, and 5.2 are not required if participating as a sole tenderer.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The call is open to entities established in the EU member states and, under specific agreements, also to entities in North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

Target Sector: Translation services, terminology, and language services.

Mentioned Countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.

Project Stage: Commercialization/Service Provision. The tender is for providing ongoing translation services.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the procedure is 200,000 EUR. This amount represents the maximum the Translation Centre expects to spend over four years.

Application Type: Open call for tenders.

Nature of Support: Money, in exchange for services rendered. Successful tenderers will receive payments for completed translation tasks.

Application Stages: The application process involves multiple stages, including:
1. Registration on the Translation Centre's Call for Tenders Portal.
2. Preparation and submission of a technical tender, including Annexes related to professional experience and managerial staff.
3. Preparation and submission of a financial tender.
4. Providing evidence of non-exclusion and fulfilling legal and regulatory capacity requirements.
5. Evaluation of the tenders based on suitability, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability.

Success Rates: Success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly mentioned as a requirement.

Summary:
This is a call for tenders issued by the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CDT) for the provision of translation services. The CDT seeks translation of term lists and application labels from English into all official EU languages (Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish) and certain non-EU official languages (Albanian, Bosnian, Icelandic, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Norwegian, Serbian, and Turkish). The total estimated value for the contracts awarded through this procedure is 200,000 EUR over a maximum contract duration of 48 months.

The call is open to economic operators, including translation agencies and LSPs, established in the EU and specific Balkan countries under the Stabilisation and Association Agreements. Tenderers must demonstrate sufficient technical and professional capacity, including translation experience of at least 500 standard pages in at least 18 EU and 4 non-EU language combinations.

The tender process involves electronic submission of technical and financial offers, along with required annexes and documentation. The award will be based on the best price-quality ratio. Tenderers should pay close attention to the tender specifications and instructions for completing and submitting the required documents via the eSubmission portal. The deadline for submitting tenders is June 18, 2025, at 10:00 Europe/Luxembourg time.