EU Commission: von der Leyen unconcerned by missed handshake

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission is downplaying as a “storm in a teacup” an incident last week at a EU-Africa summit in Brussels during which its president was hardly acknowledged by a foreign minister. The official, Ugandan Foreign Minister Jeje Odongo, slightly nodded as he walked past Ursula von der Leyen and did not stop to greet her before shaking hands with EU Council president Charles Michel and French president Emmanuel Macron during a staged photo event. The scene drew comparisons with the so-called Sofagate last year when von der Leyen said she felt hurt and alone during a meeting with Turkey’s president.