A tiny item in the city’s overall budget but a huge help for this year’s (and above all, next year’s) tourist season: The town budget will provide police officers serving in downtown Temesvár/Timișoara with 12 pocket translators, at a cost of EUR 300 apiece.
The last-minute amendment to the budget was submitted by liberal councilman Simion Moşiu, who said that police serve as the only permanent presence in the historic town center who can provide tourists with guidance to events and various other locations.
“These appliances know 70 languages and dialects from around the world. They cost about 300 euros each. The benefits we will reap from the acquisition far outweigh the tiny cost,” Moşiu said. Mayor Nicolae Robu – himself a liberal – supported the decision based on his poor experience abroad while using Google translate.
This year, the western Romanian city of Temesvár has a record budget of RON 2.2 billion (EUR 457 million), compared to a budget of RON 1.42 billion in 2019, from local and European funds as well as fresh loans.
While neither Moşiu nor Robu mentioned this, the purchase of the translators is certainly also motivated by the fact that Temesvár will be one of three European Capitals of Culture in 2021. The other two will be Elfesina in Greece and Újvidék/Novi Sad in Serbia (current candidate for EU membership).
The last Romanian city to hold the title of European Capital of Culture was Szeben/Sibiu in 2007.
Title image: Police helping a tourist in downtown Temesvár.
