According to EC spokeswoman, the French Interior Ministry requested $2.66 million emergency assistance on Tuesday.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik), Yulia ShamporovaThe European Commission envisages that the French authorities will use the emergency funding to build facilities to host around 500 asylum seekers, commission’s spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud told Sputnik on Wednesday.

According to Bertaud, the French Interior Ministry requested $2.66 million emergency assistance on Tuesday.

"The main action envisaged is the urgent increase of the French reception/accommodation capacities to host around 500 asylum-seekers in the Calais Region," Bertaud said.

Some 4,000 refugees are currently living in makeshift outdoor camps in Calais.

Those camps are situated nearby the new Jules Ferry facility, the first institution in the city to provide shelter for migrants after the closure of the Sangatte refugee camp in 2002. The Jules Ferry facility can host as many as 2,500 migrants at one time.

In recent weeks, there have been thousands of attempts by refugees to cross the 31-mile tunnel from the French town of Coquelles, near Calais, to Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom.

The European Commission will visit the French port of Calais soon in an attempt to find a solution to the migrant crisis in the area, Natasha Bertaud said.

"The Commission received a request from France [Ministry of Interior] for emergency assistance under AMIF [Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund] for €2.37 million [$2.62 million]. We will process the request without delay… A visit to Calais will be organized soon," Bertaud said.

Bertaud stated that the Commission was following developments in Calais closely.

On Monday, Bertaud announced that France had requested additional funding from the European Commission to finance measures to solve the migrant crisis in Calais.

Some 4,000 migrants are currently living in makeshift camps in Calais.

In recent weeks, thousands of attempts have been made by refugees to cross the 31-mile tunnel from the French town of Coquelles, near Calais, to Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom has built a fence around the Eurotunnel rail terminal near Calais to prevent undocumented migrants from entering Britain.