MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Announcing the disbursement of its first $21 million to France and the $29-million pre-financing to the UK on Tuesday, Avramopoulos said he welcomed “strong cooperation between both countries on this issue.”
“This comes from the total of over 266 million earmarked for France and over 370 million earmarked for the UK for the period covering 2014-20,” he said in a statement.
The EC migration chief detailed measures that Brussels could contribute to help London and Paris cope with the concentration of undocumented migrants in northern France attempting to cross the English Channel into the UK.
“For instance, the European Asylum Support Office is able to help with the processing of asylum applications,” Avramopoulos stressed.
Linking the crisis in Calais to conflicts outside Europe, Avramopoulos said the European Union “must act in a united way to address a challenge that surpasses national boundaries.”
The International Organization for Migration appealed to the 28-member bloc earlier for a wider humanitarian response to the crisis.
An estimated 3,500 to 5,000 migrants are currently reported to be encamped in the northern French port of Calais. The vast majority of them have fled conflict-torn homes mostly in North African and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to gain asylum in the UK.
At least 10 deaths have been reported since June among the thousands of migrants attempting to board Channel Tunnel trains into Britain.
