In a video shot on Tuesday, the president of the European Commission is forced to sit on a bed away from her interlocutors, while the presidents of European Union institutions meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is missing a third of the chair to receive her. These images immediately provoked outrage; Sometimes against Turkey, accusing him of trying to insult the European delegation, and sometimes against the Europeans, it is suspected that Ankara was allowed to land.

“The requests of the European Union have been honored, which means that the seats are in line with their request. Our protocol services met before the meeting and their requests were granted. [de l’UE] Respected “, Firmly Mevlut Cavusoglu is the head of Turkish diplomacy. “Turkey is a very deeply rooted country and this is not the first time we have welcomed foreign dignitaries.”He added.

The scene was filmed and widely shared on social media. Under the hashtag #SofaGate, it prompted numerous comments about the unequal behavior between two heads of European institutions and its sexual nature. For good reason: the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of Turkey sat in two chairs prepared for the meeting, without worrying about the course of their interlocutor.

On Wednesday, Ursula von Der Lane expressed dissatisfaction with the resignation and demanded that it be treated as equal to the council president.

His spokesman claimed it “Presidents of both institutions have the same protocol rank”, The Council of Europe, an organization representing member states, has stated that its President is more important than the International Protocol Commission.