Erdogan's treatment of Ursula von der Leyen irritates the president of the European Commission

The scenery also matters.

And the image of Tuesday's meeting in Ankara between the leaders of Turkey and the EU speaks volumes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan enters with the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, and both preside over the meeting in two armchairs.

Behind it is the president of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, who remains standing upset and can only verbalize an "ehmmm" when she sees that there is no seat at the same level as Michel and that she must settle on the sofa.

The treatment received by Von der Leyen, who has the same rank as the president of the Council, has caused irritation in his team, which has been commissioned by the president to contact those responsible for the protocol to ensure that this situation does not repeat itself. .

• Erdogan withdraws Turkey from the European convention against sexist violence

• The EU offers economic advantages to Turkey in exchange for reducing tension in the Mediterranean

The uncomfortable scene took place before a meeting of about three hours, during which they discussed, among other issues, Turkey's departure from the Istanbul Convention, a treaty to combat sexist violence.

"We believe that withdrawal is not the right gesture at this time," said Von der Leyen at the press conference after the meeting.

“It is an issue that we will never tire of insisting on, because it hinders progress, and we want a different attitude.

We have not been able to convince, but we urge Turkey to reconsider its position ”, he added.

The spokesman for the European Commission, Eric Mamer, did not want to judge the reasons why Von der Leyen was relegated at that meeting.

He has also refused to speculate whether it is a misogynistic attitude towards the president, taking into account that in the meetings with Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourgish was treated equally, as shown by several photographs.

"The president was clearly surprised, as can be seen in the videos, but decided to prioritize the substance," he said.

Even so, Mamer has been clear: “The protocol role must be the same as that dispensed to the President of the European Council […] The President should have been treated in the same way as the President of the European Council and Erdogan as regards to protocol ”.

Instead, the Turkish authorities gave him the same treatment as Erdogan's Foreign Minister Mevlet Cavusoglu.

First they withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and now they leave the President of European Commission without a seat in an official visit.

Shameful.

#WomensRights pic.twitter.com/p5Z4AHuHjK

- Iratxe Garcia Perez / ♥ ️ (@IratxeGarper) April 6, 2021

Community sources explained that Von der Leyen's protocol team did not attend the meeting due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic.

In any event, the president, on a trip to Amman, has asked her team to seek clarification from the parties involved in the protocol in Ankara.

“First they withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and now they leave the president of the European Commission without a seat on an official visit.

Shameful, ”said the leader of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, Iratxe García.

The MEP of the Renew party, the Dutch Sophie in 't Veld, has denounced that this fact was "deliberate" and has raised through her Twitter account why Michel had remained silent about this treatment.

Also the deputy of Los Verdes, Ernest Urtasun (En Comú Podem) criticized Michel.

"Shameful.

Juncker never suffered such a degradation in protocol in meetings with Turkey.

You could have expected a different reaction from Michel ”, he stated.

Shameful.

@JunckerEU never suffered this protocol downgrading at meetings with Turkey.

One could have expected a different reaction from @eucopresident Not his best day in office.

https://t.co/wJJWozlKA8

- Ernest Urtasun (@ernesturtasun) April 6, 2021