Immigration security

Germany's Merkel calls for unified European approach on migration

Merkel, facing sharp criticism of her own migration policies from fellow German conservatives, warned against any state pursuing unilateral actions, and said it was important to maintain a unified European approach.

“It’s very, very important to me that Germany also does not act unilaterally, but that everything we do is orderly, discussed, with agreements with others, so that we have a really unified European approach,” Merkel told reporters after a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

Merkel was due to hold a “crisis meeting” on Wednesday evening with top officials from her Christian Democratic Union and its CSU Bavarian sister party, which wants Germany to turn away at the border migrants registered in other EU states.

Such a move would represent a reversal of Merkel’s open-door migrant policy adopted in 2015, which has fueled a rise in support for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) and caused rifts within her conservative bloc.