Border security

German Interior Minister Calls For Suspension Of Schengen, National Border Controls

Seehofer also appealed for the suspension of the Schengen Agreement, which allows free movement within the EU bloc: "Internal border checks [between EU member states] must be in place so long as the EU fails to effectively control the external border," he said quoted by Deutsche Welle, adding: "I don't see it being able to do this in the near future."

In short, long gone are the days of Merkel's "Open Door" policy which directly resulted in the sharp drop in support for Merkel's ruling coalition.

Germany's temporarily reintroduced border controls continue until May 12 and have been imposed on the land border with Austria and on flight connections from Greece because of the "security situation in Europe and threats resulting from the continuous secondary movements," according to the European Commission.

Seehofer's comments follow EU demands in February that Germany and four other Schengen members — Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway — lift their border controls when the current agreed terms run out in May.

Germany was the first EU country to reintroduce internal controls in September 2015 when the country was flooded with over 1 million middle-eastern immigrants, mostly Syrian refugees. Authorities opened checkpoints along the border with Austria through which tens of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa were entering Germany.