Labour MEPs Cyrus Engerer and Alex Agius Saliba were among hundreds of European legislators and their staff who boarded a Strasbourg-bound train from Brussels on Monday morning, but were surprised to find themselves at an unexpected destination: Disneyland Paris.
Several European news portals reported that the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) train ended up taking a wrong turn as a result of a signal failure at the Paris Charles de Gaulle station.
The same train then took its passengers to Strasbourg, situated at the eastern border of France with Germany, where they could catch up with their hectic schedule. The SNCF apologised for the 45-minute delay caused by the diversion, pointing out that passengers arrived at their destination at 12.50pm.
Every month, the European Parliament charters trains exclusively for its members and staff to travel between its seats in Brussels and Strasbourg for the EP plenary.
The plenary session is taking place in Strasbourg from the 16th till the 19th October. Key topics for this week include:
- Debate and vote on the terrorist attacks of Hamas against Israel;
- Announcement of the winner of the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought;
- Establishing a Ukraine Facility worth €50 billion for 2024 to 2027 to support recovery, reconstruction and modernisation: debate and vote;
- Key debate on Parliament’s priorities for the 26-27 October European Council;
- Debate on effectiveness of EU sanctions on Russia;
- New Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform to support EU projects in developing critical and emerging strategic technologies: debate and vote;
- Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, to address the European Parliament;
- Award of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism.
