German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has backed down from a threat to bypass Chancellor Angela Merkel in a disagreement over immigration policy, bringing reprieve to Merkel’s biggest political crisis to date.
Seehofer today agreed to implement his immigration “master plan” step by step, stopping short of unilaterally enforcing a policy opposed by Merkel while she attempts to find a solution at European level.
Merkel has been in disagreement with the leader of her Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU), over a point in Seehofer’s plan that would see Germany turn away all migrants who have already registered elsewhere in the European Union (EU).
That proposal would see Europe’s south bear the brunt of the inflow of migrants and refugees.
According to Al Jazeera News, both Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party and her Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union held meetings today to discuss the next steps in the disagreement.
At a press conference afterwards, Merkel said she would hold talks at an upcoming EU summit and report back to her party by July 1.
