Bavarian allies cranked up pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday to reverse her “open-door” refugee policy, saying the deadly attacks in Paris underlined the need for tougher measures
Bavarian allies cranked up pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday to reverse her “open-door” refugee policy, saying the deadly attacks in Paris underlined the need for tougher measures to control the influx of migrants.
The coordinated assault in the French capital, in which at least 129 people were killed, has fuelled a debate in Germany over Ms Merkel’s welcoming approach to refugees and on how to pin down better intelligence about people entering the country.
The holder of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the gunmen from Friday night’s attacks passed through Greece in October, a Greek minister said, and another suspected attacker was thought to have entered Europe the same way.
“The days of uncontrolled immigration and illegal entry can’t continue just like that. Paris changes everything,” Bavarian finance minister Markus Soeder told Welt am Sonntag newspaper. His comments came after Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, leader of Ms Merkel’s sister party, the Christian Social Union, urged better protection of Germany’s frontier and called for stricter controls at Europe’s borders.
“The CSU stands behind the Chancellor, but it would be good if Angela Merkel acknowledged that the opening of the border for an unlimited period of time was a mistake,” Mr Soeder said. The Bavarian security cabinet is expected to meet later on Sunday to discuss steps in the wake of the Paris attacks, in which the foreign ministry said one German citizen was among those killed.
Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere and economy minister Sigmar Gabriel have both warned against making any hasty links between the assault and the refugee debate.
German officials indicated that Ms Merkel saw no reason to revise her stance on refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks.
But the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence services also sounded the alarm, calling for “orderly procedures” regarding the handling of the daily entry of thousands of refugees and warning extremists could exploit the sometimes chaotic migration situation.
While the German police is currently conducting passport checks at border crossings and in border areas, thousands of refugees are thought to be coming into the country without any checks.
Mr Soeder said a government had a duty to care for its own people as a priority, adding Germany needed a migration strategy with an official cap to limit the numbers of new arrivals.
If Europe’s external borders could not be protected, Germany had to secure its own frontier, he said.
