Ursula Von Der Leyen says she felt ‘hurt and alone’ at meeting with Turkey’s Erdogan

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said she felt hurt and alone when her colleague Charles Michel took the only seat for talks with Turkey’s Erdogan – leaving her perched on a sofa.   The EU chiefs met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara for talks on tense EU-Turkey relations earlier this month.  … Read more

Charles Michel admits he ‘hasn’t slept well at night’ after Ursula von der Leyen ‘sofagate’

European Council President Charles Michel said he can’t sleep at night because of a humiliating seating gaffe that relegated the female EU commissioner to a sofa during a meeting on women’s rights. Ursula Von der Leyen, the first female president of the European Commission, expressed surprise and raised a hand in disbelief when she found … Read more

Ursula von der Leyen left without a chair at EU summit in Turkey

This is the awkward moment Ursula von der Leyen was left without a seat during a summit in Turkey when her male counterparts grabbed the only two available chairs – before the trio discussed women’s rights. The incident took place in Ankara on Tuesday as Von der Leyen, the European commission president, met with Turkish … Read more

Ursula von der Leyen ‘refused to sign’ world leaders’ pandemic plea

J. V. Bainimarama, prime minister of Fiji Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, prime minister of Portugal Klaus Iohannis, president of Romania Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister,  Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda Uhuru Kenyatta, president of Kenya Emmanuel Macron, president of France Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany Charles Michel, president of the European Council Kyriakos Mitsotakis, … Read more

Make EU-r minds up! Von Der Leyen STILL insists AstraZeneca must ‘catch-up’ deliveries to Europe

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has insisted that AstraZeneca must ‘catch-up’ on its deliveries to the Continent before it is allowed to export vaccines to the UK. EU leaders stopped short of voting for an explicit export ban amid bitter squabbling over their dose allocations at a crunch virtual summit hosted by Brussels … Read more

Ursula von der Leyen threatens to halt exports of vaccines if bloc doesn’t get its deliveries first

Ursula von der Leyen has threatened to halt exports of AstraZeneca vaccines if the EU does not receive its deliveries first, in a worsening row over delayed shipments that has caused international tensions. The EU chief told the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company it has to come through on deliveries to the bloc.  In an interview with … Read more

EU vaccine rollout: Ursula von der Leyen apologises for late action

Ursula von der Leyen today issued a grovelling apology for the EU’s vaccine shambles, admitting the bloc acted ‘late’ and was ‘over-confident’ Ursula von der Leyen today issued a grovelling apology for the EU’s vaccine shambles, admitting the bloc acted ‘late’ and was ‘over-confident’.  The European commission president also conceded its rollout was still not … Read more

Ursula von der Leyen issues grovelling apology over EU vaccine shambles

Ursula von der Leyen today issued a grovelling apology for the EU’s vaccine shambles, admitting the bloc acted ‘late’ and was ‘over-confident’ Ursula von der Leyen today issued a grovelling apology for the EU’s vaccine shambles, admitting the bloc acted ‘late’ and was ‘over-confident’.  The European commission president also conceded its rollout was still not … Read more

Ursula von der Leyen slams Boris Johnson’s ‘space race’ on vaccines

Ursula von der Leyen has taken a barbed swipe at Boris Johnson over his ‘space race’ approach to vaccines as she faces a huge backlash over the EU shambles. The European Commission president complained that some countries saw the drive to inoculate populations as a Cold War style ‘confrontation’. The comments, as she addressed students attending … Read more

Ursula von der Leyen lashes out at Boris Johnson’s ‘space race’ on vaccines

Ursula von der Leyen lashes out at Boris Johnson’s ‘space race’ approach to vaccines as bitter German minister points to UK’s higher death rate and ‘endless suffering’ Ursula von der Leyen swiped at the ‘space race’ approach on vaccines at summit EU and UK have clashed over supplies as bloc struggles with its chaotic rollout … Read more