The spokesperson for the European Commission president said the EU leader was surprised to be left without a chair during a meeting with the Turkish president, and hoped the incident would not be repeated.

Speaking on Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen’s spokesperson, Eric Mamer, said his boss should have been treated equally to European Council President Charles Michel during a meeting which saw the European Commission president left sitting alone on a sofa during their meeting with the Turkish leader. The incident has already been dubbed ‘Sofagate’ online, and has undoubtedly led to a stern ticking off for the EU’s protocol team.

“The president of the Commission was clearly surprised and that is something you can see from the video,” von der Leyen’s spokesperson noted, adding that protocol suggests the European Commission chief should be treated in exactly the same way as the European Council president.

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