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Three weeks after the diplomatic scandal during her visit to Turkey, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen made serious allegations and emphatically demanded equality for women.
Just because she was a woman, she was not treated according to her office, said von der Leyen in the European Parliament on Monday.
"I felt hurt and left alone, as a woman and as a European."
During the visit at the beginning of April, only EU Council President Charles Michel was allowed to sit in an armchair next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Von der Leyen, however, had to sit on a sofa to the side.
The incident became known as the "Sofagate".
"This shows how far there is still to be before women are treated as equals," said von der Leyen.
She herself is privileged because she can defend herself.
However, millions of women who are injured every day cannot.
Thousands of much worse incidents would never be known.
Von der Leyen (left) finally sat down on a sofa, Turkish President Erdogan (2nd from right) and Council President Charles Michel on armchairs.
The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu sits on the right
Source: dpa / Dario Pignatelli
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The Istanbul Convention for the Protection of Women is an important instrument against this, said von der Leyen.
Turkey's withdrawal from the treaty is a terrible signal.
But it is also unacceptable that some EU states have not yet ratified the agreement and others are considering moving away.
"Violence against women and children is a crime, we have to call it a crime" and punish it.
EU Council leader Michel said he had publicly expressed his regrets
Addressing Turkey, she said that respect for women's rights was an important prerequisite for resuming dialogue and expanding joint programs. Further de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean and respect for the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights are also required. "These are our conditions for deepening our economic cooperation with Turkey," said the Commission President.
EU Council leader Michel said to "Sofagate" that he had publicly expressed his regret and agreed with von der Leyen that something like this should never happen again. He also heard the criticism that he should have reacted differently in the situation at Erdogan. But he did not want to destroy months of work in preparation for the visit. He expressed his unwavering support for equal rights for women.