EU's Michel 'sad' over chair gaffe but stops short of saying sorry

The EU's Charles Michel says he is sad over the gaffe that left Ursula von der Leyen without a chair during a high-level meeting in Turkey - but stopped short of apologising.

Footage shows the awkward moment Michel and Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the two top seats, leaving von der Leyen left wondering where she should sit. Eventually, she withdrew to a sofa, some distance from the two men.

The incident comes with Turkey under the spotlight over women's rights after withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty on preventing domestic violence.

But Michel, president of the European Council, has not escaped criticism. He did not offer up his seat to von der Leyen -- the first female president of the European Commission -- despite both being of equal rank.

Michel, later defending himself on Facebook, wrote: "The strict interpretation by the Turkish services of the rules of protocol produced a distressing situation: the differentiated, even reduced, treatment of the President of the European Commission.

"The few images that were shown gave the impression that I would have been insensitive to this situation. Nothing is further neither from reality nor from my deep feelings. Nor from the principles of respect which seem essential to me."

Using the first person plural, Michel said both he and von der Leyen preferred to focus on the substance of the discussion with President Erdoğan, which included women's rights, instead of aggravating the incident.

"I am sad for two reasons," Michel said at the end of his statement.

"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 honoured 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.

"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."

"The EU side’s demands were fulfilled," said Turkey's foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. "This means that the seating arrangement was made according to their suggestions. Our protocol units came together previously and their demands were realised."

Due to coronavirus safety measures, von der Leyen's protocol team did not fly to Turkey. Euronews understands the organisation of the meeting was handled by Michel's staff and the EU's delegation to Ankara.

The gaffe has touched a nerve among MEPs, who, unlike national governments, are more prone to criticise Turkey in explicit terms.

Female MEPs were particularly enraged. Sophie in 't Veld, from the liberal group Renew Europe, shared pictures on Twitter from previous EU-Turkey meetings, where the then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is shown seated on an equal footing with then-European Council President Donald Tusk.

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

The European People's Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament, said on Thursday morning that it will call for a debate -- in the presence of Michel and von der Leyen -- to find out what exactly happened in Ankara.

"The Ankara visit of Presidents von der Leyen and Michel should have been a message of firmness and unity of Europe's approach to Turkey. Unfortunately, it has resulted in a symbol of disunity as the presidents failed to stand together when it was needed. We expect more from Europe's foreign policy", said EPP chairman Manfred Weber.

An EPP spokesperson confirmed to Euronews that one of the priorities of the debate will be to clarify the protocol incident.

The EPP, to which von der Leyen herself belongs as a member of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), also wants to discuss the EU commitments made to Turkey in regards to visa and customs union, tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and relations with Cyprus.

#SofaGate EU-Turkey relations are crucial. But #EU unity and respect for human rights, including women’s rights, are also key.

That is why I have asked for a plenary debate with @vonderleyen and @eucopresident to clarify what happened and how to respect the 🇪🇺 institutions. pic.twitter.com/op7BwgcdDj

— Iratxe Garcia Perez/♥️ (@IratxeGarper) April 8, 2021