EU offers €5m to help refugees in France's Calais

The European Union (EU) will grant 5 million euros (5.6 million U. S. dollars) to France to better accommodate thousands of migrants who are camping in the northern port city of Calais, announced Frans Timmermans, the European Commission' s vice president on Monday.

"These new funds will help to establish a camp that can provide humanitarian assistance to around 1,500 migrants and to help asylum seekers in Calais move to other destinations in France," Timmermans said.

"We never repress those who need protection," he added, calling on EU member states to be "faithful" to their "human values" in the face of what he called a "global crisis".

In a visit to Calais with Timmermans and migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls noted the necessity "to act methodically and refuse any form of demagogy" to cope with what he anticipated would be "a long crisis".

"All of Europe is affected by this crisis of exceptional gravity; it must mobilize," he added.

Thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East have fled war and poverty in their native countries and are seeking a better life in Europe.

In an unprecedented migration crisis, 300,000 people crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe so far this year. A total of some 2,500 people perished during the journey.