On Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 April, European Council President Charles Michel and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu blamed each other for the lack of a chair for the European Commission President during a meeting in Ankara between Mr Michel, Mrs von der Leyen and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (see EUROPE 12693/6 and the Landmarks section in this edition).
“Despite a clear desire to do the right thing, the Turkish services’ strict interpretation of the rules of protocol has produced a distressing situation: the differentiated and even reduced treatment of the President of the European Commission”, Mr Michel explained on Facebook. “While perceiving the regrettable nature of the situation, we (Mrs von der Leyen and I) decided not to make matters worse by a creating a scene and to give priority, at the beginning of the meeting, to the substance of the political discussion”, he added, saying he was saddened by the “impression given” that he had been “indifferent to the protocol clumsiness vis-à-vis Ursula”.
Turkey strongly rejected these accusations, calling them”extremely unfair”. “The protocol applied at these (international) meetings is in line with international protocol rules as well as the world-renowned Turkish hospitality traditions”, Mr Çavuşoğlu said. He added: “The Presidency’s protocol met the demands of the European side. In other words, the seating arrangement was designed to meet their demands and suggestions”.
In an internal note to the Secretary General of the EU Council dated 7 April and circulated to the media, the Head of Protocol of the EU Council explained that “in general, the protocol for third countries makes a clear distinction between the status of Head of State, held by the President of the European Council, and the status of Prime Minister, held by the President of the Commission; this could have been the source of the issue”.
The head of protocol said that at a preparatory meeting on 5 April, the meeting and dining rooms could not be checked. “If the room for the tête-à-tête had been visited, we would have suggested to our hosts that, as a courtesy, they replace the sofa with two armchairs for the President of the Commission”, explained the head of protocol, adding that in the dining room, to which the European side had finally gained access, they had the size of the three chairs for the three Presidents realigned.
Similarly, according to the head of protocol, it was Mr Michel who suggested that Mrs von der Leyen be included in the photo of the two Presidents to illustrate the meeting. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)