EU Agrees to Two-Year Trial of 'Eagle Eye' Cameras at Eurotunnel Border

The European Commission has agreed to a two-year trial of an 'eagle eye' camera system at the Eurotunnel border between the United Kingdom and France. The trial would let drivers provide biometric data, meaning physical identifiers such as fingerprints and facial images, without leaving their cars.

Eurotunnel is owned by Getlink, whose chief executive is Yann Leriche. According to The Guardian, Eurotunnel will use special drive-through terminals at its sites in Folkestone and Calais. Each car would pull up to an individual kiosk, with two stands per vehicle for reading passports and taking fingerprints and facial images.

Each site is equipped with 120 kiosks. They sit under the eagle-eye cameras, which police monitor.

The same camera system is already used at airports in Rome and Paris to supervise fingerprinting and facial imaging.

The checks relate to the European Union's Entry/Exit System, which requires non-EU citizens, including British passport holders, to submit fingerprints and facial images when entering and leaving the Schengen area, the group of European countries that has no routine border checks between its members. The system was supposed to be active across the EU by 9 September. Nine of the 27 member states, including France, had not yet fully deployed it because of technical issues.