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'Thaispeáin mo chuairt ar an Tuirc a fhad agus a chaithfimid dul sula gcaithfear le mná mar chomhionanna'

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Today (26 April) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a strong statement on her treatment during her visit to Ankara to meet with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the European Council president to discuss EU-Turkey relations. 

The statement was part of a joint briefing to MEPs with European Council President Charles Michel on the recent EU summit and the controversial EU-Turkey meeting where the Commission president was denied equal standing with her peer, in an incident referred to as “sofagate” where Von der Leyen was offered a place on a sofa, while Michel and Erdogan sat on chairs.

“I am the first woman to be president of the European Commission. I am the president of the European Commission and this is how I expected to be treated when visiting Turkey two weeks ago, like a commission president, but I was not. I cannot find any justification for the way I was treated in the European treaties,” she concluded that it was because she was not wearing a suit and a tie.

She said: “In the pictures of previous meetings, I did not see any shortage of chairs, but then again I did not see any women in these pictures either. Many of you will have had quite similar experiences in the past, especially the female members of this house. I'm sure you know exactly how I felt hurt and I felt alone as a woman and as a European, because it is not about seating arrangements or protocol. This goes to the core of who we are. This goes to the values our union stands for. And this shows how far we still have to go before women are treated as equals always and everywhere.”

Von der Leyen acknowledged that she was in a privileged position compared to other women and underlined how it was even more important that she spoke up for those women who are not heard: “When I arrived at the meeting, there were cameras in the room. Thanks to them, the short video of my arrival immediately went viral and caused headlines around the world. There was no need for subtitles. There was no need for translations, the images spoke for themselves.

“We all know that thousands of similar incidents go unobserved, nobody ever sees them or hears about them, because there is no camera, because there is nobody paying attention. We have to make sure that these stories are told and that they are acted upon.”

She used the statement to call for adoption of the Istanbul convention on violence against women and children. Von der Leyen described it as a groundbreaking legal text and an inspiring document. It is the first internationally binding instrument to take a broad approach to combating violence against women and children. 

Aiseolas

Von der Leyen used the meeting in Ankara to reiterate her concerns about Turkey withdrawing from the convention, but added that to be credible all EU states need to ratify the convention. At this moment Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland are among the countries that have opposed formal ratification. Von der Leyen said that she would like the EU itself to become a signatory. 

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