EU border guards could be deployed on French soil to help deal with influx of migrants at Calais and deport those not eligible for asylum.

The European Commission will this afternoon offer the French government assistance in handling the thousands massed at the port hoping to get to Britain.

A team of guards from the EU’s border agency Frontex could be sent within days to help process applications from those seeking asylum.

EU border guards could be deployed on French soil to help deal with influx of migrants at Calais and deport those not eligible for asylum

Refuge: A group of young African men are photographed at an Emmaus-run assistance centre for migrants in Paris, which has been occupied by its residents since dawn

The move would mean migrants are dealt with on the other side of the Channel and discourage them from trying to get across the border hidden on lorries and trains.

But it could lead to the setting up of a dedicated immigration centre to screen and process the migrants that could become a ‘new Sangatte’ and act as a magnet for yet more people wanting to get to Britain.

The measure could also increase pressure on British officials to accept a deal to take in some of the refugees in a bid to resolve the crisis.

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the commissioner in charge of home affairs including migration policy, will this afternoon speak to Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve to discuss how the EU might intervene.

Options could include upon request a rapid response team from the Warsaw-based border agency Frontex being sent to the region to help the French identify and register migrants and coordinate ‘return operations’ to send back those not granted asylum.

British officials confirmed that the request would need to be made by the French and they were not seeking similar assistance on this side of the Channel.

Cecilia Malmström, the European commissioner currently in charge during the summer break, said the EU stood ready to assist the French authorities

This afternoon in Brussels, Cecilia Malmström, the European commissioner currently in charge during the summer break, said the EU stood ready to assist the French authorities.

She said the Commission could offer help to process applications and ‘when it comes to those who are not entitled to asylum, Frontex and the EU are willing to discuss how we can help for the return issue’.

THE EU GUARDS WHO COULD PATROL FRENCH SOIL AT CALAIS Frontex was set up in 2004 to co-ordinate the security of the Schengen Area of 26 European countries, which have removed all checks points and passport controls between each other.

Border guards from across member states are put together in rapid response teams that can be deployed when countries request assistance during a crisis.

Officers work under the ‘command and control’ of the host countries and wear their own national uniforms with a blue arm-band with the insignia of the EU and Frontex.

The agency, which has a budget for 2015 of more than 114million euros, has most recently been co-ordinating efforts to cope with the migrant influx in the Mediterranean.

Its work also includes assisting member states in the training of national border guards and co-ordinating flights to deport foreign nationals staying illegally.

The group’s full title is the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union.

Its headquarters is for reasons of political correctness in Warsaw, Poland, where it has newly built offices. Advertisement

Frontex, which was set up in 2004 to co-ordinate EU-wide efforts in securing the Schengen Area of 26 European countries, which have removed all border checks and passport controls between each other.

It has a rapid response capability in the form of European Border Guard Teams (EBGT), which are made up of officers from different member states.

The units bring together surveillance experts, dog handlers and border check staff and request specific equipment needed for operations from EU member states, such as helicopters, planes, thermo-vision equipment and heart-beat detectors.

Officers work under the command and control of the host countries that request their help and wear their own national uniforms with a blue arm-band with the insignia of the EU and Frontex.

Frontex’s full title is the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union.

The agency, which has a budget for 2015 of more than 114million euros, has most recently been co-ordinating efforts to cope with the migrant influx in the Mediterranean.

One of the options to process the migrants could be to use a former children’s centre in Calais that was converted into a refuge at the state of the year using EU funding.

The site, which was known as the Jules Ferry children’s centre, is a collection of prefabricated buildings and playing fields that has classrooms, accommodation and kitchens.

It is currently being used to provide food, medical and legal advice and overnight shelter for the most vulnerable migrants, including hundreds of women and children.