German coalition partners agree on migration compromise

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their coalition partner the Christian Socialist Union (CSU) on Monday reached a compromise on migration policy after weeks of tensions that threatened the future of the government.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin after final negotiations between the CDU and CSU, Merkel said they have agreed to set up “transit centers” at Germany’s border for asylum seekers who arrived in the country after entering the European Union (EU) from another member state.

“We will return them to the countries they arrived from and they were already registered, in agreement with these states,” Merkel said.

The chancellor underlined that while taking several measures at a national level, her government would also continue its efforts towards enhancing cooperation between EU member states to address the refugee crisis.

CSU leader and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who advocated an anti-immigrant agenda, had long insisted on stricter measures and on Sunday threatened to quit the government.

Earlier, Merkel opposed Seehofer’s proposals and argued that unilateral moves would have “a domino effect”, prompting other EU member states to push back refugees.

The CSU, which faces a regional election in Bavaria in October, has recently sharpened its criticism of Merkel’s open-door policy for refugees and argued that Germany should not wait for other EU member states and move forward with unilateral measures to stop irregular migration.

Germany has received more than a million refugees in the last three years, mostly from Syria and Iraq.

Merkel’s decision in 2015 to open doors for refugees fleeing conflicts and persecution was widely criticized by conservatives and exploited by far-right and populist parties.