Sofagate

The President of the European Council Charles Michel defended himself alleging having worried that had he acted otherwise, the diplomatic relations between the EU and Turkey would have been strained further and preparations met for the meeting would have been destroyed.[18] He further mentioned that a possible cause of the distressing situation was that Turkey had strictly adhered to the diplomatic protocol[1][19] which rates the head of the EU council above the head of the EU commission.[16][20][7] Michel stated that he slept poorly during the nights following the incident and would rectify the situation if he could go back.[21][22]

The European Council's protocol chief Dominique Marro listed in a report that they would have liked done on von der Leyen's behalf, including suggesting "to our hosts to replace the sofa with two chairs, as a courtesy to the President of the Commission".[9] However, these suggestions were never made by the Council's protocol team.[9] Marro also reiterated that Turkey had interpreted the diplomatic protocol too strictly, which could be at the origin of the inconvenience, the Council report stated.[9]

Von der Leyen herself mentioned she felt abandoned, as a woman but also as a European,[7] and denounced the event as a sign of sexism.[7] Eric Mamer, the chief spokesperson for the EU Commission confirmed that Von der Leyen was surprised by the situation but preferred to focus on the matter of the meeting and not on the form of the protocol.[23] The commission demanded that a modus vivendi shall be crafted to prevent such incidents in the future.[20][24]

The Italian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Massimiliano Smeriglio initiated a signature campaign demanding Michel's resignation over the incident.[18][25] The Spanish MEP Iratxe Garcia Perez, leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, criticised both Charles Michel and Erdoğan over the inferior treatment of the woman amongst the three leaders, accusing the two men of "micromachismo and rudeness".[1] Many other Members of the European Parliament were also said to be moved by Michel's lack of reaction to the incident, while Belgian MEP Assita Kanko asked, "Why did Michel sit down? Why couldn't he... look at Ms. von der Leyen and show his solidarity".[26] The Dutch Member of the European Parliament Sophie in 't Veld mentioned that in a former meeting between the two EU leaders and Erdoğan, all three were seated in chairs.[27][15] She also criticized Ursula von der Leyen for refusing to take a stand, in this and many other instances and allowing the European Commission to take a backseat to the European Council.[28] Marc Angel, an MEP for Luxembourg and the Co-president of the LGTBI group in the European Parliament said Michel had lost the opportunity to take a stand for general equality by either giving the seat to von der Leyen or taking a seat on the sofa.[15]

The EU rapporteur on Turkey Nacho Sánchez Amor drew attention to the fact that several politicians of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party, following a crackdown by the Turkish government, had lost their mandate, stating "Let's not lose focus on what seats are at stake!"[29]

A petition by women's rights associations was started, demanding Charles Michel step down due to his approach to the incident.[13][30] Recalling that the incident took place just fifteen days after Erdogan decided to leave the Istanbul Convention aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in defense, they deemed Michels taking the seat as supportive of Turkey's aims in depriving women of their rights.[13] Further, the group alleged that Michels' conformation with the situation was a sign of weakness at a time when Turkey's accession to the European Union constituted "a serious and unresolved debate".[13]

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated the seating order was made according to the arrangements discussed with the European Union.[31] This was denied by the EU's head of protocol Dominique Marro who alleged they were not provided access to the room in question before the meeting.[13] The Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also lamented the treatment of Von der Leyen stating: "With these dictators — let us call them what they are — one must be frank in expressing one's diversity of views and visions of society",[32][33] while also emphasizing the need of cooperation between Turkey and the European Union.[32] To the "dictator" remark, Ankara responded with the summoning of the Italian ambassador to Turkey.[31] According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, Turkey suspended the purchase of helicopters from the Italian company Leonardo.[34] Erdoğan condemned Draghi's "dictator" remark, alleging that Erdoğan is elected, while Draghi is only appointed,[35][36] Draghi said he would not change his statement.[37]