The European Commission has recently been faced with quite a few scandals which have tarnished its reputation. Wanting to get ahead of any news, she sent an email to her employees to remind them that they are prohibited from accepting free tickets for major events such as the Olympics.

The acceptance of gifts “raises issues of compliance with the expected ethical behavior of members and staff or may create reputational risks for the committee and the individuals concerned”, writes the email sent to staff, according to Politico.

Employees were also banned from accepting gifts or free tickets for major events such as Euro 2024 and the Eurovision Song Contest.

“The reputational risk of accepting a ticket is high when the general public has difficulty obtaining tickets,” the email from earlier in July said.

Commissioners themselves — who are in some cases allowed to accept gifts worth up to €150 — should “normally” refuse tickets even if they are below this limit, while staff should refuse tickets even if the their value is below the €50 threshold, the email also states.

For any commissioners looking for a “loophole”, the email said free tickets can be accepted “only in certain circumstances” if someone is officially representing the European Commission at an event or if the ticket can be considered “diplomatic and courtesy use”.

Additionally, the email notes that the presence of commissioners’ cabinet members or other officials “is not normally warranted at such sporting or cultural events,” the email said.

If the staff defies the rules, then the Commission will be faced with new scandals.

A senior official, Henrik Hololei, who headed the commission’s transport department, resigned last year after it was revealed he had been accepting free tickets on Qatar Airways flights while his team was negotiating a major aviation deal with the Gulf state.

Meanwhile, senior EU officials, including the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varghelli and Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans accepted free hotel stays on working trips from non-EU governments including Qatar, Morocco, Israel and Jordan.