Looking back while going forward: 15 years of legal interpreting in the EU

Over the years the European Union has evolved from a predominantly political and socio-economic enterprise and become increasingly proactive in the area of justice, the so-called "Third Pillar'. The Maastricht Treaty (1993) introduced justice and home affairs as "matters of common interest" for the EU but it was the Amsterdam (1999) and Nice (2000) Treaties which really set out the ambition to shape the EU into "an area of freedom, security and justice". Following the Amsterdam Treaty (1999), the European Council laid down the priorities for Justice and Home Affairs in three subsequent five-year programmes ('Tampere', 'The Hague' and 'Stockholm'). From the beginning the issue of access to and quality of interpreting (and translation) featured as one of the major fundamental rights and procedural safeguards to be ensured in criminal proceedings. The end of 2014 marks a turning point as the Stockholm Programme comes to an end. Therefore, it seems the time has come to take stock. This contribution surveys 15 years (1999-2014) of European and national legislation, of academic activity in training and research and of professionalization of the legal interpreting and translation community, charting important objectives that have been achieved.