EU chief felt ‘hurt’ ‘alone’ at meeting with the Turkish leader;

EU chief felt ‘hurt’ ‘alone’ at meeting with the Turkish leader. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said on Monday that. She felt hurt and lonely during a meeting with Turkey’s president earlier this month. She handled unfairly simply because she is a woman. Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Earlier this month in Ankara for talks on strained EU-Turkey relations. However, only two chairs placed in front of the EU and Turkish flags to accommodate the three presidents. Michel sat down next to Erdogan.

Von der Leyen stood staring at the sitting citizens. She has seen sitting on a huge beige couch, apart from her male colleagues. However, I am the European Commission’s first female representative. I am the President of the European Commission. I wanted to handle it this way when I visited Turkey two weeks ago. Hence, I felt like a commission president, but I wasn’t, von der Leyen told EU legislators. I can’t see any excuse in the European treaties for how I was handled. So I’m forced to believe that it happened because I’m a woman.

Any kind of abuse against women or children is illegal;

Michel apologized for the incident on Monday. He admitted that he should have resigned his seat. But he concerned about causing a larger diplomatic incident, particularly given Turkey’s poor ties with the 27-nation bloc. Von der Leyen stated thankful to photographers. However, the conference and that the photos made headlines all around the world. The head of the EU’s executive branch, whose speech applauded by many lawmakers, also said that during her discussions with Erdogan, she brought up Turkey’s decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Which aims to address violence against women.

The absence of one of the Council of Europe’s founding members is a bad signal, von der Leyen said. But she pointed out that some EU member countries are yet to ratify the convention. Any kind of abuse against women or children is illegal. Von der Leyen said that she wants the EU to attend the convention. She stated that the European Commission would bring forward alternative legislation to deter and fight abuse against women and children. Both offline and online by the end of the year.