German coalition parties make progress in migration talks – SPD’s Nahles

Otto Fricke, a member of the German parliament (Bundestag) and budgetary spokesman for the Free Democratic Party (FDP) told CNBC that Seehofer would know now that he could maneuver his coalition partner Merkel.

Before this policy is adopted, it will require the consent of the Social Democrats (SPD).

Under Ms. Merkel, Germany has been a bulwark against the rise of the far right in Europe and the increasing turn against migrants.

“I want Europe to remain together”, she said.

“At the most it is just another one of many necessary tools for more order and control on the migration to Germany”.

The CSU lives in mortal fear that, unless tough steps are taken to stem the inflow of asylum seekers, it will be outflanked on the right by the AfD and lose its dominant position in Bavarian politics when state elections are held there in October.

Numbers are sharply down from the peak three years ago.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, whose country has flatly refused to take in migrants under a controversial European Union quota, leapt on the chance to urge Europe to close its borders. They are being described as akin to holding centers in some German airports, where asylum seekers are held until they are approved for legal entry. The Chancellor resisted the idea of unilateral policies that would undermine an EU-migration management regime.

Both Italy, the first arrival country in the European Union for numerous migrants turning up in Germany, and Austria, a main transit country, have declined entering into return agreements. Seehofer indicated that, if she did not agree, he would implement it unilaterally, by decree.

His threat to resign had raised the spectre of that coming to an end.

He told Sky News: “The problem is, the agreement only exists between the CSU, Seehofer’s party and Angela Merkel’s CDU”.

European Union leaders reached a much-needed deal on steps to tackle migration after resolving a bitter row with Italy’s inexperienced prime minister.

Her CDU lawmakers are still behind her while the CSU has baffled voters and commentators by backing themselves into a tight corner. No SPD, no GroKo.

Ms Merkel also secured agreement from Greece and Spain to take back from Germany migrants who previously registered in those countries.

The two parties were in a dispute over the country’s future migration and asylum policy, as Seehofer believed that the European solution reached at the EU summit in Brussels last week could not satisfy his party’s goal of taking a hardened asylum policy.

Angela Merkel has lived up to her reputation as the great survivor once more.

In the letter, the chancellor threw her support behind establishing large collection centers in Germany for migrants as their cases are processed.

The centre-left’s party leader Andrea Nahles sounded a more optimistic tone after talks with Merkel and Seehofer on Tuesday evening, saying that progress has been made.

Germany’s latest political crisis has ended in compromise, again. Let’s hope that things now settle down.