Due to the current unexpected crisis we all face, unprecedented fellowship and collegiality is necessary in order to get through these difficult times. “No one will be left behind” is a mantra we have been hearing throughout the last few weeks from our appointing authorities. However, we are not yet sure if this is or will be the case for our freelance colleagues.

We have raised plenty of your questions in this area and many of them have been answered. However, there are still concerns and questions regarding external service providers for the institutions (in many cases exclusively so): colleagues who are in many situations crucial for the functioning of the EU Institutions. We believe it should not be necessary to say it, but some of these colleagues have lost all of their work overnight and we ask ourselves whether the EU Institutions care about them or not, and if they do what are they are willing to do to support them.

In this regard, and for freelance interpreters (just one such profession among those affected) a recent joint effort by all trade unions and staff associations, which got a prompt reply by Commissioner Hahn, was a step in the right direction.