BERLIN, JULY 03,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Social Democrats (SPD) coalition partners said on Tuesday they need to scrutinise a compromise on migrant policy she struck with her Bavarian allies to save her three-month old government before they agree to it.
A deal between Ms. Merkel’s own Christian Democrats (CDU) and her Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) partners, envisages special transit zones at the German border with Austria where migrants already registered in other EU countries will be held.
They would then be sent back — although Austria has yet to agree to this, and Vienna signalled possible problems ahead by saying it would have to protect its southern borders with Italy and Slovenia if the German deal went into effect. The new policy which tightens restrictions on migrants is a compromise that allowed Ms. Merkel and CSU head Horst Seehofer to back down from their confrontation over immigration that had threatened to break up their coalition.
Ms. Merkel said the deal showed Germany was not simply taking unilateral action but working with its European partners.Mr. Seehofer, who is also Interior Minister and wanted tighter national border controls, caused chaos in the last few days, threatening to resign and then putting that on ice.
Now he has said he will remain in his cabinet post.
