The European Commission on Monday called a “storm in a teacup” a controversy born of a sequence filmed during the EU-Africa summit, showing the head of Ugandan diplomacy ignoring the president of the European executive, Ursula von der Leyen, and greet two male leaders.
The episode drew comparisons in the press and on social media to the ‘sofagate’, when Ursula von der Leyen found herself sitting on a sofa, away from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Prime Minister. European Charles Michel, seated in two armchairs, during a visit by EU leaders to Ankara, April 6, 2021.
Commission President ignored
The incident had sparked controversy and accusations of sexism. Charles Michel had been criticized for not reacting and Ursula von der Leyen, who had said she was “hurt”, had warned him that she would “not allow such a situation to happen again”.
This time, the scene that has made the rounds on social media shows Ugandan Foreign Minister Jeje Odongo, on his arrival at the EU-Africa summit in Brussels on Thursday, walking past Ursula von der Leyen and heading directly towards Charles Michel and French President Emmanuel Macron, before shaking hands with the two men.
No handshake
After a remark by the French head of state, the Ugandan minister turns to the President of the Commission to say a few words to her, without shaking her hand, before leaving. While a spokesman for Charles Michel indicated that the latter had not seen the oddity of the Ugandan minister because he was discussing with Emmanuel Macron at the time of his arrival, the spokesperson for the Commission questioned about the version of the head of the European executive.
“The president is not charging anyone, she has absolutely not raised the issue with anyone,” spokesperson Eric Mamer said during the daily press briefing, explaining that the attention of the Commission and its president was “entirely taken up with the management of [la] crisis” around Ukraine.
” A storm in a glass of water “
“It’s the media that are making this case, not us. Have you heard from the European Commission that there has been an incident? Absolutely not, so please leave the President of the European Commission out of this story,” he continued.
Ursula von der Leyen “continued to do her job as if nothing had happened, she absolutely did not speak, neither of President Macron, nor of President Michel, nor of the Ugandan minister concerned. So frankly I think we should avoid making a storm in a glass of water, ”he concluded.