Gender equality issues took centre stage in Brussels a day after Ursula von der Leyen, one the EU’s most powerful executives, was treated like a second-rank official during a visit to Ankara.
Ms von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and European Council chief Charles Michel visited Turkey on Tuesday for talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan focusing on the EU-Turkey relations.
After they were led in a big room for discussions with Mr Erdogan, TV images showed that only two chairs had been laid out in front of the EU and the Turkish flags for the three leaders.
Mr Michel and Mr Erdogan took the chairs as Ms von der Leyen stood looking at both men, expressing her astonishment with a “ehm” and a gesture of disappointment.
"Ehm" is the new term for "that’s not how EU-Turkey relationship should be". #GiveHerASeat #EU #Turkey #womensrights pic.twitter.com/vGVFutDu0S
Advertisement— Sergey Lagodinsky (@SLagodinsky) April 6, 2021
Ms von der Leyen eventually sat on a large beige sofa, away from her male counterparts.
According to a EU source, the meeting between the three leaders lasted more than two hours and a half.
“The important thing is that the president should have been seated exactly in the same manner as the president of the European council and the Turkish president,” EU commission chief spokesman Eric Mamer said, adding that Ms von der Leyen was surprised by the arrangements.
“She decided to proceed nevertheless, prioritising substance over protocol, but nevertheless let me stress that 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,” Mr Mamer said.
He added that Ms Von der Leyen’s protocol team did not travel to Turkey with her due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There was no immediate comment from the Turkish presidency or the European Council.
The diplomatic incident was abundantly commented on social media.
European politician Sophie in ’t Veld posted pictures of previous meetings between Michel’s and Ms von der Leyen’s predecessors with Mr Erdogan, with the trio of men sitting in chairs next to each other.
“And no, it wasn’t a coincidence, it was deliberate,” Ms in ‘t Veld wrote on Twitter, questioning why Mr Michel remained “silent”.
“‘Ehm’ is the new term for ‘that’s not how EU-Turkey relationship should be,” said Sergey Lagodinsky, another member of the European Parliament, using the hashtags #GiveHerASeat and #womensrights.”
Last month, Mr 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.
Being a man or a woman does not change anything to the fact that she should have been seated according to the very same protocol arrangements as the two other participants
Ms von der Leyen called for Mr Erdogan to reverse his decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention.
“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.
And no, it wasn’t a coincidence it was deliberate.👇 Why was @eucopresident silent? https://t.co/LvObcyGpmL pic.twitter.com/dLUxuUr5B9
— Sophie in 't Veld (@SophieintVeld) April 6, 2021
Asked whether the commission regarded the incident as specifically gender-related, Mr Mamer said Ms von der Leyen travelled to Ankara as the president of an EU institution.
“Being a man or a woman does not change anything to the fact that she should have been seated according to the very same protocol arrangements as the two other participants,” Mr Mamer said.
“She seized the opportunity to specifically tackle the Istanbul convention and women’s rights.
“I believe that the message sent was clear.”
