(AFP) Germany’s conservative election winner Friedrich Merz said on Saturday he had agreed on tough restrictions on irregular immigration in talks with his likely future governing partners.
Europe’s biggest economy would reject undocumented migrants at its borders, including asylum seekers, said Merz of the CDU/CSU bloc after concluding exploratory talks with the centre-left SPD.
After days spent hammering out key policy compromises, the two big-tent parties plan to now move into full-fledged talks with the aim of building a grand coalition government next month.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Merz, considered Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, said that “in coordination with our European neighbours, we will reject asylum applications at the common borders.”
