Eurotunnel Asks UK, France to Reimburse Security Costs Amid Migrant Crisis

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel asked France and the United Kingdom on Wednesday to compensate it for additional security costs, totaling 9.7 million euro ($10.67 million), which it incurred due to increased pressure from undocumented migrants trying to enter the United Kingdom.

The Channel Tunnel is a 31.4-mile rail tunnel between Coquelles, near the Port of Calais, in northern France and the town of Folkestone in England.

"The increase in pressure from migrants in Calais led to disruption to services during June and could lead to further disruptions to traffic and to additional security expenditure in the second half of the year. €13 million has already been spent on security measures in the first half of the year," the company said in a statement.

According to Eurotunnel, a request has already been submitted to the Channel Tunnel’s regulatory body for consideration.

"The UK government has already agreed to reimburse €4.7 million and a request for €9.7 million has been addressed to the [Channel Tunnel] Intergovernmental Commission (IGC)," the statement specified.

The tunnel was subjected to several traffic disruptions earlier in July as undocumented migrants from refugee camps near Calais attempted to climb into cargo trucks, en route to the United Kingdom.

At present, up to 3,000 migrants, mainly from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Afghanistan, are housed in Calais.