European Commission Bans Employees from Accepting Tickets to Olympics as Gifts

The European Commission has banned its officials from accepting tickets to the Olympic Games and other major events as gifts amid scandals over attempts to bribe EU officials.

This is reported by Politico.

In an email, the European Commission staff was reminded that accepting tickets ‘calls into question the expected ethical behaviour of members and staff or may create reputational risks for the Commission and the people involved’.

Staff were also banned from accepting tickets donated or provided by organisers for major events such as the Euro 2024 football tournament and the Eurovision Song Contest.

‘The reputational risk associated with accepting a ticket is high when the public has difficulty purchasing tickets,’ the email said.

At the same time, the guidelines provide for exceptions: commissioners can accept tickets if they are officially representing the European Commission at the event or if the ticket can be considered a ‘gesture of diplomacy and courtesy’ - for example, when it is offered by the government of an EU country.

The new rules came to light after several attempts to bribe EU officials.

The former head of the European Commission's transport department, Henrik Hololei, was found to have enjoyed free flights on Qatar Airways while his team was negotiating a deal with the Gulf state.

This was part of the wider Qatargate corruption scandal, in which Qatar tried to influence decision-making in the European Parliament.

The European Commission has since proposed the creation of an ethics body that would establish common rules of conduct for officials of all EU institutions.