European Commission President: Gender discrimination is the cause of the "sofa scandal" in Turkey

 The first president of the European Commission pledged to defend women's rights, after admitting that she felt "pain" due to the lack of a seat for her during a summit with leaders in Turkey.

Ursula von der Leyen was left without a chair, in a meeting with the President of the European Council Charles Michel with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on the sixth of April.

Turkey was criticized as did the President of the European Union Council, Charles Michel, who sat in the only chair next to Erdogan.

Turkey blamed the European Union for the mistake, which made Ms. von der Leyen sit on a sofa far from the two men.

But in a speech to the European Parliament on Monday, von der Leyen pointed out that gender discrimination was the root cause, in this protocol error known in the media as the "couch scandal".

Ms. Von der Leyen, 62, said she saw no reason why she should be treated differently from Michel, who apologized for his role in this situation.

"I am the first woman to hold the presidency of the European Commission. I am the president of the European Commission. I expected to be treated as such when I visited Turkey two weeks ago, as commission president, but that did not happen," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

She added, "I cannot find any justification for the way I have been treated in European treaties. So I must conclude, it happened because I am a woman. Would this have happened if I had been wearing a suit and tie? In the photos of previous meetings I did not see a shortage of chairs, but ... Once again, I did not see any woman in those pictures either. "

What happened at the meeting?

The meeting was arranged to mend the strained relations between the European Union and Turkey. Von der Leyen and Michel held talks with President Erdoan in his presidential palace.

But when the three leaders were seated, there were only two chairs. Mr. Michel and Mr. Erdoan took their seats in gilded Ottoman-style chairs, leaving the Chairperson standing.

In a video clip of the meeting, Ms. von der Leyen was visibly astonished, making her displeasure evident with the audible "hum".

Finally, Ms. von der Leyen sat on a sofa, far from the Turkish leader and opposite the Turkish foreign minister.

Comparisons were made between this meeting and another in Brussels in 2017. On that occasion, the two men presiding over the European Commission and the European Council sat next to the Turkish president in two comfortable chairs.

What did the Commission president say about women's rights?

In her Monday speech, Ms. von der Leyen did not publicly blame Erdogan or Michel for the incident.

But she admitted that she felt "the pain and was left alone as a European woman."

"Because this is not about sitting arrangements or protocol. This extends to the essence of who we are. It extends to the values ​​our union represents. This shows us the distance we still have to travel before treating women as equals," she said.

She said she used the meeting to express her "deep concerns" about Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an international agreement aimed at protecting women.

Ms von der Leyen said that protecting women from violence would remain a "priority" for UNHCR - the European Union's executive arm.

Speaking to Parliament, Mr. Michel once again expressed his regret over the incident, which he said he understood had offended many women.

Michel also told lawmakers that strengthening economic ties with Ankara is difficult, due to the deterioration of basic rights and freedoms in Turkey, including the rights and freedoms of women.