Ursula Von Der Leyen says she felt ‘hurt and alone’ at meeting with Turkey’s Erdogan

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said she felt hurt and alone when her colleague Charles Michel took the only seat for talks with Turkey’s Erdogan – leaving her perched on a sofa.  

The EU chiefs met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara for talks on tense EU-Turkey relations earlier this month. 

But only two chairs were set out in front of the EU and Turkish flags for the three leaders and Michel took the chair next to Erdogan.

Von der Leyen said she was treated poorly simply because she is a woman. 

In a clip from the meeting, she can be seen standing up looking at the seated men, expressing her astonishment with an ‘ehm’ sound, and a gesture of disappointment. 

She was later seen seated on a large beige sofa, away from her male counterparts.

Von der Leyen said she was treated poorly simply because she is a woman after a video showed her colleague Charles Michel sitting in the only available seat during talks with Turkey’s Erdogan (pictured)

Instead, Von der Leyen was forced to sit on a sofa beside the two men and during a speech yesterday she said she felt ‘hurt and alone’

‘I am the first woman to be president of the European Commission. I am the president of the European Commission, and this is how I expected to be treated when visiting Turkey two weeks ago. Like a commission president, but I was not,’ Von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

‘I cannot find any justification for (how) I was treated in the European treaties. So, I have to conclude that it happened because I am a woman,’ she said. ‘Would this have happened if I had worn a suit, and a tie?’

Von der Leyen, who didn’t publicly blame either Erdogan or Michel for the incident, said she saw no shortage of chairs in other similar meetings in the past, or many women for that matter.

She also dismissed Michel’s claims the incident took place due to a protocol incident.  

‘I felt hurt, and I felt alone, as a woman, and as a European. Because it is not about seating arrangements or protocol. This goes to the core of who we are. 

‘This goes to the values our union stands for, and this shows how far we still have to go before women are treated as equals, always and everywhere,’ she said.

The apparent protocol gaffe at the Turkish presidential palace ignited a public uproar. 

Turkey insisted that the EU’s own protocol requests were applied but the European Council head of protocol said his team didn’t have access, during their preparatory inspection, to the room where the incident happened.

Michel (left during talks with Erdogan) has since apologised for the incident and acknowledged he should have given up his seat for Von der Leyen (right)

Von der Leyen delivered an impassioned speech during a debate in the plenary at the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday (pictured)

Michel apologised on Monday. Providing an explanation as to why it had taken him until yesterday to apologise, he acknowledged he should have given up his seat. 

He was concerned about sparking a broader diplomatic incident, especially given the poor state of relations between Turkey and the 27-nation bloc.  

The incident has further fuelled speculation that the two EU chiefs are feuding. 

Von der Leyen said that fortunately cameras were present at the meeting and that the images made headlines around the world, The Telegraph reports. 

‘Thanks to them the short video of my arrival immediately went viral and caused headlines around the world. 

‘There was no need for subtitles. There was no need for translations, the images spoke for themselves.’  

But she said that many women aren’t so lucky, and she noted the increase in violence against women and children during the coronavirus pandemic.

During her speech, Von der Leyen said it was fortunate cameras were present at the meeting to capture the moment

The head of the EU’s executive branch, whose speech was praised by several lawmakers, also said that during the talks with Erdogan she raised Turkey’s decision to abandon the Istanbul Convention, which is aimed at combating violence against women.

‘The withdrawal of one of the founding members of the Council of Europe is a terrible signal,’ Von der Leyen said, but she also noted that several EU member countries haven’t ratified the convention and that others are even considering pulling out.

‘This is not acceptable. Any kind of violence against women and children is a crime. We must call it a crime and it must be punished as such,’ she said.

Von der Leyen said she wants the EU itself to join the convention, but that the move is being blocked by some member countries. 

She said that by the end of the year the European Commission ‘will put forward alternative legislation to prevent and combat violence against women and children, offline and online.’