Dies ist eine HTML Version eines Anhanges der Informationsfreiheitsanfrage 'Ethics guide for staff'.

 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
 
Brussels, 7.3.2012  
SEC(2012) 167 final 
  
COMMUNICATION TO THE COMMISSION 
Communication from Vice-President Šefčovič to the Commission on Guidelines on Gifts 
and Hospitality for the staff members 
 
 

 
COMMUNICATION TO THE COMMISSION 
Communication from Vice-President Šefčovič to the Commission on Guidelines on Gifts 
and Hospitality for the staff members 
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Guidelines on Gifts and Hospitality 
PURPOSE OF THE GUIDELINES AND DEFINITIONS 
1. 
PURPOSE OF THE GUIDELINES 
The European civil service is expected to live up to the highest standards of professional 
ethics, and to remain independent at all times. This is why the Staff Regulations, specifically 
Article 11 (2), provide that an official shall not accept any favour, gift or payment from 
sources outside of the institution without the permission of the Appointing Authority. In these 
guidelines, the term "official" includes officials, temporary agents, contractual agents and 
special advisors.  
The current guidelines are addressed to staff members covered by Article 35 of the Staff 
Regulations, i.e. in active employment, on secondment, on leave on personal grounds, on 
parental or family leave, and on military leave.  
However, for officials who are not in active employment in the Commission, any gifts and 
hospitality that they might receive which are not related, and may not be reasonably perceived 
to be related, in any way to their capacity as officials, (including, for example, gifts received 
in a new professional capacity while they are on leave on personal grounds) are not deemed to 
be covered by Article 11 of the Staff Regulations or by these guidelines. 
Although staff members who have left the service are not obliged to seek authorisation under 
Article 11 (and are not subject to these guidelines), Article 16 (1) of the Staff Regulations 
provides that they continue to be bound by the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as 
regards the acceptance of certain benefits.  
It is the responsibility of all staff members to ensure that their conduct is in line with the Staff 
Regulations in both letter and spirit. The purpose of these guidelines is to enable staff to 
comply with their statutory obligations with respect to gifts and hospitality offers. 
2. 
DEFINITION OF GIFTS 
A gift is understood to mean: 
–  a sum of money or any physical object, or 
–  the possibility to participate for free in events which are open to the public or are private in 
nature, are only accessible in return for payment and represent a certain value (such as 
complimentary tickets for sports events, concerts, theatre, conferences, etc.), or 
–  any other advantage with a pecuniary value such as transport costs.  
Low value items given for purely information purposes (brochures, booklets, catalogues…) 
are not considered as gifts in this context.  
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Indirect gifts are those which are not offered directly to staff members, but to a third party that 
is close to the staff member.  
Gifts that are offered to the institution (Article 19 of the Financial Regulations) are not 
covered by these guidelines. 
3. 
DEFINITION OF HOSPITALITY 
Article 11 of the Staff Regulations furthermore refers to favours. These guidelines deal with 
hospitality offers, which are considered to be one particular type of favour. Hospitality is 
defined as an offer of food, drink, accommodation and/or entertainment from any source 
outside the institution.  
PRINCIPLES  
4. 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 
It should be stressed that as a general rule, staff members should not accept any direct 
or indirect gifts or hospitality offered by third parties.  

This is most evident where gifts are offered by persons, authorities or organisations which are 
involved in or are seeking official action by the Commission especially in a sensitive area in 
which the staff member is, has been or will likely be active in the foreseeable future. All such 
gifts should be in principle refused. In addition, the rules apply to "indirect" gifts or 
hospitality offered to a third party that is close to the staff member. In any event, any situation 
where the acceptance of a gift or hospitality may lead to real, potential or perceived conflict of 
interest should be absolutely avoided. Any gifts entailing a sum of money, regardless of the 
amount, must always be refused.  
Acceptance of gifts or hospitality may, exceptionally be authorised (within the limits 
indicated under "Specific provisions related to Gifts" below) when it is clear that this will not 
compromise or reasonably be perceived to compromise the staff member's objectivity and 
independence and will not damage the Commission's public image. This evaluation can only 
be based in the first place on sound judgement from the staff member in the given 
circumstances, and then should be confirmed by the Appointing Authority in the relevant 
cases.  
5. 
RELEVANT CRITERIA 
Criteria to be considered in this context are, in particular, if the acceptance of the gift or 
hospitality is counter to the interest of the service or presents a real or perceived conflict of 
interest for the staff member concerned, or if such acceptance would be in accordance with 
diplomatic and courtesy usage.  
In this respect, certain factors may point towards the likelihood that authorisation could be 
granted, for instance when the offer of a gift or hospitality has a low value or is addressed to a 
large number of persons. On the other hand, there are factors which may point towards the 
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likelihood that authorisation would be refused, for instance when the offer of a gift or 
hospitality has a high value or, is addressed to a single staff member.  
In general terms, for the purposes of the assessment of a given request, the following factors 
could be relevant – it being understood that the factors mentioned are not exhaustive, and that 
they will be neither individually nor collectively decisive but form part of a case-by case 
analysis:  
–  depending on the context, the nature of the source offering the gift or hospitality 
(private/public); 
–  the apparent motive behind the offer of the gift or hospitality;  
–  the link between the entity offering the gift or hospitality and the Commission (for example 
procurement procedures, cases under investigation, financial interests in a special EU 
policy, etc);  
–  the nature and estimated value of the gift or hospitality, including whether there have been 
one or several offers from the same source;  
–  the individual or collective destination of the offer;  
–  the functions of the staff member;  
–  the benefits for the service expected from the participation of the staff member at the event 
in question.  
Gifts and hospitality motivated solely by a family relationship or personal friendship, or in a 
context not related in any way to the staff member's duties do not, in principle, fall under the 
provisions of Article 11 of the Staff Regulations. However, even here situations may arise 
when acceptance can be perceived as compromising the staff member's independence.  
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS  
6. 
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS RELATED TO GIFTS  
In the first place staff members should always remember that they should not accept any 
gifts
 as a general rule and should make use of sound judgement in order to assess, in the given 
circumstances, if acceptance could be envisaged.  
Subject to the general principles set out in points 1, 2, 4 and 5 above, gifts should therefore 
only be accepted if in line with or if required by social, courtesy or diplomatic usage. In that 
case, the following administrative arrangements apply:  
–  (1) Prior permission by the Appointing Authority is presumed to be granted, in accordance 
with Article 11 of the Staff Regulations and in the interest of expedient administrative 
procedures for a gift worth up to €50.  

In this respect it is important to stress that this threshold does not mean that any staff member 
may consider himself or herself at liberty to accumulate a number of gifts below the set value, 
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bearing in mind that an accumulation may be seen to compromise the staff member's 
objectivity and independence, or may damage the Commission's public image. 
–  (2) Explicit prior permission by the Appointing Authority is required for a gift worth 
between €50 and €150.  
If the Appointing Authority authorises acceptance, the gift may be kept. Again, it is stressed 
that this threshold does not mean that any staff member may consider himself or herself at 
liberty to accumulate a number of gifts – which will also be an element that will be taken into 
consideration by the Appointing Authority. 
–  (3) Authorisation for gifts with a higher than €150 value will be refused by the Appointing 
Authority. 
Such gifts must thus be refused. For the sake of transparency, the staff member should inform 
the immediate hierarchical superior, preferably in written form, that the gift or sum of money 
has been offered and refused.  
Offers of any sum of money must always be refused by the staff member. 
–  (4) General considerations. 
In general terms, the following applies: 
• 
If the Appointing Authority refuses to authorise acceptance or if a gift is 
unwanted, it can be returned to the source, if this is feasible. 
• 
Alternatively it can be sent to the OIB. The gifts transmitted by the staff 
members based in any location, are donated by OIB to an appropriate 
charitable organisation.  
• 
As far as gifts returned to the source or sent to OIB are concerned, such action 
shall not be considered as "acceptance" in the meaning of the Staff 
Regulations, provided that the staff member immediately informs his 
immediate hierarchical superior.  
• 
As a courtesy, the staff member should inform the sender, unless this would be 
diplomatically inappropriate,  that the gift cannot be accepted and will be 
transmitted to charity,  
• 
Where the staff member is in doubt as to whether the refusal of a gift would be 
contrary to social, courtesy or diplomatic usage or might create otherwise 
embarrassing situations, he/she should bring the matter to the attention of the 
Appointing Authority which will decide on a possible refusal.  
Finally, the value amounts mentioned above should be estimated in good faith. 
7. 
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS RELATED TO HOSPITALITY  
(a) 
Hospitality in general 
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In the first place staff members should always remember that they should not accept any 
hospitality
 as a general rule and should make use of sound judgement in order to assess, in 
the given circumstances, if acceptance could be envisaged.  
Subject to the general principles set out in points 1, 3, 4 and 5 above, hospitality should 
therefore only be accepted if in line with or if required by social, courtesy or diplomatic 
usage. In that case, the following administrative arrangements apply:  
–  (1)Prior permission by the Appointing Authority is presumed to be granted, in accordance 
with Article 11 of the Staff Regulations and in the interest of expedient administrative 
practice
:  
•  of hospitality in the form of lunches or dinners strictly linked to the function of the official, 
and as such not prejudicial to the interests and public image of the Commission, and in 
which the official participates in agreement with his hierarchy and in the interest of the 
service;  
•  of occasional offers of simple meals, refreshments, snacks etc. 
Even if such hospitality offers can be accepted without prior formal authorisation, in the 
interest of transparency and in the interest of the person concerned, some Directorates-
General, given the specific nature and sensitivity of their work, may wish to introduce 
additional rules such as a recommendation that staff inform their immediate hierarchical 
superior in writing/by e-mail of the acceptance of an offer.  
As in the case of gifts, it is important to stress that this presumption of authorisation does not 
mean that any staff member may consider himself or herself at liberty to accumulate a number 
of hospitality offers, bearing in mind that an accumulation may be seen to compromise the 
staff member's objectivity and independence, or may damage the Commission's public image. 
–  (2) Explicit prior permission by the Appointing Authority is required: 
As a general rule staff members should keep in mind that there is no such a thing as a free 
lunch. In cases not covered by the previous heading, or if the staff member judges that there is 
a doubt as to the appropriateness of accepting or refusing a hospitality offer, prior 
authorisation should be received from the Appointing Authority. If prior authorisation is not 
feasible, the Appointing Authority' agreement should be sought as soon as possible 
subsequent to the event. In any event the official's immediate superior should be informed.  
Again, it is stressed that that this does not mean that any staff member may consider himself 
or herself at liberty to accumulate a number of hospitality offers – which will also be an 
element that will be taken into consideration by the Appointing Authority. 
In any case of doubt, staff members are invited to consult their hierarchy or their local ethics 
correspondent. 
(b) 
Hospitality offered during missions 
The mission order will as a rule cover all predictable offers of hospitality, based on the 
mission programme – notably meals, accommodation and transport. These will not be 
considered as hospitality offers if the programme of the mission and the participation of the 
official has been authorised – as they form part of the performance of his duties in the interest 
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of the service. The acceptance of these offers will then be declared in the mission expense 
statement.  
Particular prudence is necessary in sensitive situations. For instance staff members 
participating in inspections and similar missions should whenever possible inform their 
immediate superior or team leader on an ad hoc basis, and in accordance with any other 
specific provisions, when hospitality is offered in the course of such missions. If this is 
impossible, they should exercise their individual judgement and act according to the 
principles set out in these guidelines. Any hospitality thus accepted should be declared in the 
mission expense statement 
In this respect, it is within the discretion of each Directorate-General to give practical advice, 
in addition to the general approach as defined in points 1 and 2 above, on what can be 
considered as usual and acceptable practice in view of avoiding real or perceived potential 
conflicts of interest, based on its own specific experiences in the domain. 
8. 
ENFORCEMENT  
Staff members are reminded that infringements of Article 11 expose them to the risk of 
disciplinary action on the basis of Article 86 and Annex IX of the Staff Regulations.  
9. 
REVISION 
The practical application and effectiveness of the guidelines on gifts and hospitality will be 
evaluated after two years following its adoption. In the light of this evaluation, these 
guidelines may be revised as appropriate.  
 
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