By Elishya Perera
(CU)_The recent meeting between the Turkish President and the two presidents of the European Union raised eyebrows after the chief of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was left awkwardly standing, while her male counterparts took their seats at the two chairs which had been set out in front of the Turkish and EU flags.
Footage showed von der Leyen standing, looking at the men taking their seats, and expressing her disappointment with an “ehm” sound. It was later shown that she was made to sit on a large beige sofa, away from the focal point of the room where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Council Chief Charles Michel were sitting.
Eric Mamer, spokesman for the EU Commission Chief said von der Leyen was “surprised” by the incident but “decided to proceed nevertheless, prioritizing substance over protocol.”
Nevertheless, the incident ignited public uproar, particularly those raising accusations of gender discrimination.
Meanwhile, Turkey has rejected claims that it snubbed the European Commission President because of her gender, and has blamed the EU instead, claiming that EU’s protocols were followed when preparing for the event. On the other hand, the EU Council’s Head of Protocol said that during their preparatory inspection his team did not have access to the room where the incident took place.
“If the room for the tete-a-tete had been visited, we should have suggested to our hosts that, as a courtesy, they replace the sofa with two armchairs for the President of the Commission,” Dominique Marro said in a note.
He added that the order of protocol for third countries, established by the EU treaty, make a clear distinction between the President of the European Council, who holds the status of Head of State, and the President of the Commission, who holds the status of Prime Minister.
Meanwhile those who viewed the footage have expressed their disappointment not only regarding Erdogan’s choice of only two chairs, but also regarding Michel’s decision to comply with the arrangement. Hours after the incident took place, Michel finally responded to the allegations, saying he regretted “the differentiated, even diminished, treatment” of von der Leyen, adding that the impression given by the images which suggested he was “indifferent” to the situation was inaccurate.
“Nothing could be further from the truth, or from my deeply held feelings – or indeed from the principles of respect which I hold so dear,” he said.
“At the time, while realizing the regrettable nature of the situation, we decided not to make matters worse by creating a scene,” he added.
Although the Commission welcomed Michel’s statement, however, Manfred Weber, the Chairman of the largest in the European Parliament, said it was unfortunate that the visit to Ankara resulted in a symbol of disunity between the EU’s most powerful executives.
“The Ankara visit of Presidents von der Leyen and Michel should have been a message of firmness and unity of Europe’s approach to Turkey,” he said in a statement. “Unfortunately it has resulted in a symbol of disunity as the presidents failed to stand together when it was needed. We expect more from Europe’s foreign policy.”
