Mickey Mouse Parliament: European Parliament Members Accidentally Land in Disneyland

Members of the European Parliament found themselves in Disneyland by accident after their train en route to Strasbourg took a wrong turn. This comical incident occurred as the parliamentarians were traveling from Brussels to their residence in the French city.

This was reported by Politico.

Every month, the European Parliament charters trains exclusively for lawmakers and EU officials to transport them between locations in Brussels and Strasbourg, located in eastern France. This monthly "tour," entrenched in EU agreements, is staunchly defended by France but is often ridiculed as a mobile circus that Mickey Mouse would proudly participate in.

This time, it so happened that after departing from the Brussels station, the train with hundreds of MPs and officials arrived at Marn-la-Vallée-Chessy station, where Disneyland is located, and was forced to halt for 45 minutes.

According to reports, Dutch Member of the European Parliament Samira Rafaela shared a photo on her social media, captioning it: "Team Disneyland."

One of the parliamentarians complained that he and his colleagues "unfortunately could not get off the train" and, during the unscheduled stop, glimpsed the summit of the American rollercoaster Space Mountain.

Another representative of the European Parliament regretted the absence of free rides within the train carriages.

Yet another official reported that the train driver had to walk to the other end of the train, restart it, and travel in the opposite direction.

An assistant to one of the MEPs noted that officials were laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"After the switch error at Paris's Charles de Gaulle station, the French railway sent the train, meant to transport European Parliament members from Brussels to Strasbourg, to Disneyland. 'When the magic comes to life,' Disney's slogan, is soon to become the slogan of the European Parliament," quipped French MP Emmanuel Foulon.

"We are NOT the Mickey Mouse Parliament," quipped German legislator Daniel Freund sarcastically.

Another Member of the European Parliament expressed relief at the change of direction, as it means he is looking ahead.

"The European Parliament's image as a traveling circus becomes more real every hour," tweeted Alberto Alemanno, a professor of European law.

It's worth noting that in April, a member of the European Parliament from the Socialists, Pedro Silva Pereira, stated during a closed meeting that there was a shortage of seats on trains to Strasbourg and inquired whether the parliament could charter more trains.

Christoph Hansen, a Member of the European Parliament from the European People's Party, who deals with administrative matters, also mentioned during the same meeting that there was a shortage of trains.

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were unavailable for comments.