Ursula von der Leyen snubbed in chair gaffe at EU-Erdoğan talks

Daniel Boffey
The Guardian
Wed, 07 Apr 2021 11:05 UTC

Ursula von der Leyen was left irritated after being sidelined during talks between the EU and Turkey in Ankara on Tuesday after her two male counterparts took the only available seats

Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission's first female president, was "surprised" after being left without a chair during a meeting of the EU's two presidents and Turkey's leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and has demanded such a snub is never repeated.

The German head of the commission was left visibly irritated at the start of the talks in Ankara with her two male counterparts, Erdoğan and Charles Michel, the former Belgian prime minister who is president of the European council.

"Ehm," she muttered, with a small gesticulation directed at the occupied seats, as Michel and Erdoğan settled themselves at the head of the gilded room in the presidential complex at the start of the talks.

The awkward scene played out before a three-hour meeting with Erdoğan on Tuesday where one of the issues raised by the EU leaders was women's rights in light of Turkey's withdrawal from a convention on gender-based violence.

Michel, who appeared to make a beeline for the top spot next to Erdoğan as the party entered, offered little evidence of regret. Von der Leyen had to make do with a second-rank seat on a sofa opposite Turkey's foreign minister.

On Wednesday, Von der Leyen's spokesperson made clear the commission president's feelings over the issue, noting that the incident had "sharpened her focus" on the issue of equal rights during the discussions that followed.

He said: "The president of the commission was clearly surprised and that is something you can see from the video ... The protocol level of our president is exactly the same as that of the president of the European council.

"Our president is a member of the European council in her own right and normally when she goes to foreign countries she was treated in exactly the same way as the president of the European council.

"The president expects that the institution that she represents to be treated with the required protocol and she has therefore asked her team to take all appropriate contacts in order to ensure that such an incident does not occur in the future".

The spokesperson suggested that the commission president took a calculated decision to carry on the meeting despite the affront.

"The president's assertiveness was clearly on display in that she did not walk away from the meeting, she took part in the meeting, and played her full role," the spokesperson added.

Iratxe García Pérez, the Spanish MEP who leads the Socialist and Democrats group in the European parliament, tweeted: "First they withdraw from the Istanbul convention and now they leave the president of European commission without a seat in an official visit. Shameful."

"What a diplomatic fiasco," tweeted Violeta Bulc, a former EU commissioner.

Neither Von der Leyen nor Michel made any mention of the diplomatic gaffe in a post-meeting press conference. "We have come to Turkey to give our relationship a new momentum and in this respect we had an interesting first meeting with President Erdoğan," Von der Leyen said.

She added Turkey had sent a "wrong signal" by leaving the convention on preventing violence against women signed in 2011.

"I am deeply worried by the fact that Turkey withdraws from the Istanbul convention," she said. "This is about protecting women and protecting children from the threat of violence".

Erdoğan did not take part in the statement. The main result of the meeting was that the EU agreed to extend the five-year, €6bn (£5.2bn) under which Brussels had provided funding in return for stopping the movement of migrants to Greece.

In a statement late on Wednesday, Michel said he was "sorry" that he had appeared indifferent in the video to Von der Leyen's "distressing situation".

He said: "I am therefore sorry for two reasons. First, by the impression given that I would have been indifferent to the protocol awkwardness vis-à-vis Ursula.

"All the more so since I am honored to participate in this European project, of which two major institutions out of four are headed by women, Ursula von der Leyen and Christine Lagarde. And also proud that a woman, the first in history, succeeded me as Prime Minister of Belgium.

"Finally, I am saddened, because this situation has overshadowed the major and beneficial geopolitical work that we carried out together in Ankara, and of which I hope that Europe will reap the fruits.

In his statement, however, Michel said the incident had occurred as a result of the Turkish government applying a strict interpretation of 'protocol', in a comment that appeared to clear both himself and Ankara of any blame.

Comment: The Daily Mail reports:

Von der Leyen's spokesman said afterwards that Turkey had breached protocol by failing to offer her a chair, as it has done to other male commission presidents in the past, but that she decided to 'prioritize substance over protocol' by staying.

Diplomatic protocol dictates that the EU commission president and council president, holding equal rank, should be seated in an equal manner.

None of the leaders mentioned the incident in press conferences held after the summit, but Von der Leyen's spokesman opened up about it today after footage of the moment went viral on social media.

The diplomatic incident was abundantly commented on social media.

European lawmaker Sophie in ´t Veld posted pictures of previous meetings between Michel´s and Von der Leyen´s predecessors with Erdogan, with the trio of men sitting in chairs next to each other.

'And no, it wasn´t a coincidence, it was deliberate,' in 't Veld wrote on Twitter, questioning why Michel remained 'silent.'

© Sophie in ´t Veld

Last month, Erdogan pulled Turkey out of a key European convention aimed at combatting violence against women, triggering criticism from EU officials.

The move was a blow to Turkey´s women´s rights movement, which says domestic violence and murders of women are on the rise.

'Human rights issues are non-negotiable. We were very clear about that. We urge Turkey to reverse its decision because it is the first international binding instrument to combat violence against women and children,' she said.

Asked whether the commission regarded the incident as specifically gender-related, Mamer said Von der Leyen traveled to Ankara as the president of an EU institution.

Meanwhile Mr Michel used a post-meeting press conference to call on Turkey to resolve disputes with Greece and Cyprus over gas rights in the Mediterranean.

A row between Turkey and EU members Greece and Cyprus over offshore jurisdiction has strained ties, reaching a peak last summer when Turkish and Greek navy frigates escorted vessels exploring for hydrocarbons in disputed waters.

The European Union backs Athens, while Ankara has accused the bloc of bias and of not honouring its pledges under a 2016 migrant deal.

The visit by Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen follows an EU summit last month at which the bloc said work could begin on deeper trade ties and on providing more money for refugees in Turkey.

Despite concerns over what some European leaders call recent Turkish backsliding on human rights, the EU has applauded Ankara's recent withdrawal of vessels operating in disputed waters and restarting talks with Greece.

'In Ankara, ready with (von der Leyen) to start discussion with (Erdogan) on the future of EU-Turkey relations,' Michel said on Twitter.

'Sustained de-escalation is needed to build a more constructive agenda.'

The EU last month opened the door to begin updating a Customs Union as demanded by Ankara.

This would bring EU candidate Turkey into the internal market of the world's largest trading bloc and allow unhindered flow of goods and services.

Erdogan has downplayed EU membership in recent years and few analysts see it as imminent.

The EU chiefs, who last held in-person talks with Erdogan a year ago, were expected to present Ankara with three options if the maritime de-escalation continues, including improving economic ties, a formula to support the more than 4 million refugees in Turkey, and ways to increase contacts.

'We are no longer in an emergency situation so this is more about working for a longer-term perspective,' an EU official said.

At the summit last month, the EU also warned Ankara of sanctions if it restarts energy exploration in disputed waters and voiced concern over Turkey's human rights record.

Michel and Von der Leyen are expected in Ankara to stress that the EU will not approve closer ties without fundamental rights being honoured.

Both the EU and the United States have criticised a move by Turkey to abruptly withdraw from a convention protecting women from violence, as well as a legal case to shut down the third biggest party, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party.

Such behaviour wouldn't have passed unnoticed in President Putin's presence: Diplomacy done right: Putin greets visiting Merkel with bouquet

See also: Turkey arrests retired admirals for signing declaration against militarization of Black Sea