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Who will be joining celebs like Snoop Dogg and Sarah Jessica Parker in Paris to watch the world’s top athletes strike gold? Not staff at the European Commission, apparently.
The EU executive — mindful of its reputation — has banned its officials from accepting free tickets to major events like the Olympics.
With recent hospitality scandals still fresh for the European Commission, employees were reminded that accepting freebies “raises questions of compliance with the expected ethical behavior of members and staff, or can create reputational risks for the commission and the persons concerned,” in an email to staff seen by POLITICO. It is not clear who was the original author.
Staffers were also banned from accepting gifted or hosted tickets to major events like the Euro 2024 football tournament, and the Eurovision Song Contest.
“The reputational risk of accepting a ticket is high when the general public has difficulties to obtain tickets,” said the email from earlier in July.
The commissioners themselves — who are in some circumstances allowed to accept gifts up to a value of €150 — should “normally” refuse tickets even if they are below this threshold, while staffers should refuse tickets even if their value is below their gifts threshold of €50, the email said.
For any sporty commissioners looking for a loophole, the email said hosted tickets can be accepted “on an exceptional basis” if officially representing the European Commission at an event, or if the ticket can be considered “diplomatic and courtesy usage,” such as if it’s offered by the government of an EU country.
But officials at levels lower than commissioner aren’t so lucky. The attendance of commissioners’ cabinet members or other staffers is “usually not justified at such sports or cultural events,” the email said.
The European Commission did not respond to questions about the email by the time of publication.
If staff defy the rules, it wouldn’t be the first time the Commission has faced hospitality scandals.
Top official Henrik Hololei, who ran the Commission’s transport department, resigned last year after POLITICO revealed he accepted free flights on Qatar Airways while his team negotiated a major aviation deal with the Gulf state.
The same year, POLITICO reported that senior EU figures including the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans accepted free hotel accommodation on work trips from non-EU governments, including Qatar, Morocco, Israel and Jordan. The commissioners’ offices all said the accommodation offers were in line with the Commission’s code of conduct.
