Angela Merkel faces party rebellion over Germany’s stance on refugees

“In light of the developments in recent months, we can no longer speak of a great challenge – we are on the verge of our country being overwhelmed,” they wrote, in the letter addressed “Dear Madam Chancellor” and obtained by AFP.

 

The appeal marked the largest single expression of dissent by members of Merkel’s own camp since the refugee crisis hit Germany in September. The CDU has 256 seats in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

 

“We do not want to divide the CDU parliamentary group – we are only asking for the law to be applied,” one of the initiators of the letter, Christian von Stetten, told AFP.

 

The signatories said that quick processing of asylum applications, housing in “appropriate” conditions and “successful” integration of newcomers were all impossible if “the number of arrivals remains this high or begins to climb again in the spring”.

 

They urged Germany to resume applying the EU’s Dublin asylum regulations, which say that refugees must seek asylum in the first member country that they land in.

 

Merkel, who has attempted to rally Germans with the slogan “We can do it”, has pledged a “tangible reduction” in the number of asylum seekers arriving in Germany in the coming months.

 

Read More: Angela Merkel faces party rebellion over Germany’s stance on refugees | World news | The Guardian