The leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups insisted on the need to avoid any future diplomatic mishaps like the one in Ankara (see EUROPE 12694/5) and on the importance of improving interinstitutional work, during an exchange of almost two hours on Tuesday evening between the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament (CoP); the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, stressed the importance of better coordination between the European institutions in order to create a “Team Europe” that speaks with one voice but also has the same representation. This call was made by all group presidents.
Several renewed their invitation for a discussion on Turkey at the next plenary session in April. One of the issues discussed was the development of a joint strategy with the European Parliament to improve institutional coordination. The issue of working on the protocol was discussed. The ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ was also mentioned, notably by Mr Michel, with a view to deepening the issue.
The presidents’ viewpoint
After reiterating his apologies, in particular to Ms von der Leyen, Mr Michel recalled that the protocol mission had not had the opportunity to physically see the room where the meeting was to be held. He also reiterated that to do otherwise at the time by pointing out a protocol error had seemed diplomatically dangerous.
For her part, Ms von der Leyen said the incident showed the importance of improving coordination between the EU institutions, of paying more attention to gender equality and of reflecting on the representation of the EU institutions when travelling abroad under Articles 15 and 17 of the Treaty on European Union.
A diplomatic incident that should not overshadow a relative diplomatic success
The visit by the EU to the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was an opportunity to discuss highly political issues, which should not be totally overshadowed by the ‘Sofagate’ incident, the two presidents recalled.
Several major areas were discussed, including the Customs Union, migration management, the fight against terrorism, climate change or the role of Turkey in the region (e.g., the maritime dispute with Cyprus and Greece), participation in the European programmes Erasmus and Horizon Europe. Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention was also discussed. A “rendez-vous clause” in December with the Turkish President was also discussed to take stock of the situation.
EPP group president Manfred Weber (Germany) said he was sceptical of any progress on maritime tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. Martin Schirdewan, co-president of The Left, was critical of the implementation of a positive agenda, given the behaviour of the Turkish regime in many respects. Philippe Lamberts, co-president of the Greens/EFA, also insisted on the respect of human rights before going into detail on the positive agenda.
An update on Turkey in the presence of the two Presidents is likely to be included in the plenary session on 26 April. The issue will be decided at the Conference of Presidents on 22 April.
On the EU Council’s side, a report of the meeting was expected to be sent to the ambassadors in the evening of Wednesday 14 April. At the time of going to press, the content of the discussions was not known. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)