If you thought government incompetence couldn’t get any more shameless, allow Belgium to give you a front-row seat to its latest fiasco. Imagine waking up as one of the country’s 2,000 sworn court translators and interpreters, only to discover that you’re now an unpaid volunteer, courtesy of the Ministry of Justice’s “accounting strategy.” Why? Well, they’ve managed to somehow blow a hole of 20 million euros in their budget, and they’re apparently looking at everyone but themselves to cover the bill.
Let’s paint a picture here: you’re a sworn interpreter, essential to the very fabric of justice in a country with more languages than a Eurovision contest, and the Ministry’s response to paying you on time? A casual shrug and “Sorry, we’re broke.” Because, apparently, managing a budget for 2,000 people who keep the courts running smoothly is just a tad too complicated. But don’t worry, they say! Solutions are on the way. Just wait… a few more months… or years… who knows, right?
Meanwhile, as these court interpreters and translators check their empty bank accounts, the Ministry offers some spectacularly original excuses. It’s not their fault, you see—it’s all because of “personnel shortages” and “administrative delays.” Yes, Belgium, the land of infinite bureaucracy, suddenly can’t find enough paperwork-pushers to handle a few thousand invoices. They can build a chocolate-covered bureaucratic labyrinth with a side of waffles, but paying the people who work for them? Now that’s a bridge too far.
And let’s be clear—this isn’t a new problem. These payment “hiccups” have been around since at least 2021. Yes, for years now, Brussels and Eupen have practically turned late payments into an art form, forcing interpreters to wait months on end. This latest episode, however, is a new level of absurdity. In 2023, the Ministry straight-up announced, “Oops! We’re out of money for the year.” Yes, like a kid who’s spent all their allowance on candy, they’re now frantically shaking the government piggy bank, hoping to find a few stray euros.
The BBVT, the association representing these neglected translators, has been pleading for help. They’ve raised the alarm over and over, but the Ministry? Well, they’re apparently too busy fumbling through their empty wallets to listen. Some translators are waiting 90 days—triple the legally required payment term. And as for those living in regions like Halle-Vilvoorde and Limburg? Delays there have been so consistent, they could practically host an annual “Longest Payment Wait Time” competition.
All this financial limbo is causing serious hardship for people who actually depend on these payments to live. We’re talking about professionals with rents to pay, families to feed, and bank accounts that aren’t looking too friendly. But rest assured, while translators are scraping by, the Ministry’s top brass continue to draw their salaries on time, as reliably as ever. After all, it’s only fair, right? Nothing says “justice” like watching the people who serve the courts being left high and dry by the very institution they work for.
Yes, the Belgian Ministry of Justice has mastered the fine art of “budget mismanagement,” turned essential workers into unpaid interns, and managed to tarnish whatever faith the public might have had left in their ability to get anything right. So hats off, Belgium. You’ve taken the concept of “justice” and turned it into an elaborate, bureaucratic joke—one that your translators and interpreters are forced to pay for, in more ways than one.