'Sofagate was a disaster from all angles,' says MEP

Click to read the article in Turkish

European Commission President von der Leyen was "surprised" after she wasn't given an equal seat with European Council President Charles Michels and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the meeting in Ankara yesterday (April 6), said her spokesperson Eric Mamer.

"The president (von der Leyen) should have been seated in exactly the same manner as the president of the European Council and the Turkish president," said Mamer.

Footage shared on Twitter by Sergey Lagodinsky, the Chair of the Delegation to the European Union (EU) - Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, shows von der Leyen muttering "Ehm" in surprise while the two leaders were taking the two center-places seats.

"Ehm" is the new term for "that’s not how EU-Turkey relationship should be". #GiveHerASeat #EU #Turkey #womensrights pic.twitter.com/vGVFutDu0S

— Sergey Lagodinsky (@SLagodinsky) April 6, 2021

While her spokesperson said von der Leyen decided not to "make an issue out of it," the incident was a "disaster from every angle," according to Sophie in 't Veld, a member of the European Parliament.

"Yesterday's #SofaGate was a disaster from every angle: geopolitics, EU institutional relations and gender equality. Who approved the arrangement, why were ⁦von der Leyen and Michels ⁩ not informed? Where was the Protocol Service? Read my questions here," she wrote on Twitter.

Yesterday’s #SofaGate was a disaster from every angle: geopolitics, EU institutional relations and gender equality. Who approved the arrangement, why were ⁦@vonderleyen⁩ & ⁦@eucopresident⁩ not informed? Where was the Protocol Service? Read my questions here pic.twitter.com/tH2JELdPrR

— Sophie in 't Veld (@SophieintVeld) April 7, 2021

(EKN/VK)