Sofagate: EU Council President Charles Michel has sleeping disorders after visiting Turkey

EU Council President Charles Michel regrets his behavior at the meeting of EU leaders with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Brussels - "If possible, I would circle around and fix the matter," said the Belgian to the Handelsblatt (Monday edition) and other European business media. "I make no secret of the fact that I haven't slept well at night since then because the scenes keep playing back in my head." Michel sat down on the armchair next to Erdogan without hesitation during the conversation in the Turkish Presidential Palace and thus bred EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in front of the cameras.

Von der Leyen finally took a seat on a sofa some distance from Erdogan and Michel. "My concern was that if I reacted in any way, I would have started a much more serious incident," Michel said. The EU leaders wanted talks to restart relations with Turkey and, among other things, to discuss a continuation of the migration pact.

But the political content was overshadowed by "Sofagate". Michel did not want to endorse the choice of words of the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who had described Erdogan as a "dictator", but he emphasized that the EU expected "progress in human rights and fundamental freedoms".

Source: Der Newsticker

Photo: Belga / T. Roge/PostDiscus