More problems for Scholz as German opposition leader wants 'comprehensive' rejection of illegal migrants at borders
Chancellor Olaf Scholz came under heavy pressure from centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz on Monday
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Germany's left-wing Chancellor has been left with a major headache after the country's leader of the opposition demanded the "comprehensive" rejection of would-be illegal migrants at borders.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz came under heavy pressure from centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz on Monday when Merz requested the "rejection of people at the German external borders on a comprehensive scale" if they do not have the correct paperwork.
On the same day, Germany's government announced it would be imposing harsher checks throughout all its land borders over the next six months.
Then, the pair met for crunch talks on Tuesday to discuss how to shore up Europe's largest economy's borders - not least in the wake of the Solingen stabbings at the end of August.
Scholz has been left red-faced after the leader of the opposition slated his government's togetherness
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But Merz is understood to have stormed out of his cross-party meeting, slating Scholz's government as "hopelessly divided" on his way out.
He said: "The federal government is clearly hopelessly divided internally and cannot agree on effective measures... The federal government is incapable of action and leaderless."
His departure came after a senior member of Germany's Greens faction, which is in coalition with Scholz, accused him of using migration as a tool to "blackmail" the government and "behaving like a stubborn child".
But then, the government introduced an even tougher migration crackdown - which has been met with a mixed reception from Germany's neighbours.
MORE AS GERMANY BATTLES ITS OWN MIGRANT CRISIS:
Germany's border choice has been met with a mixed reception from its neighbours
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Scholz's government was labelled "incapable of action and leaderless" by Friedrich Merz
REUTERS
The proposals include detaining asylum seekers while authorities determine whether Germany is responsible for processing their case - and, if not, sending them back to the first EU member state in which they arrived.
"We want people whose asylum procedure is the responsibility of another EU country to be sent back there," German interior minister Nancy Faeser said.
She continued: "We will approach our European partners at a high political level to ensure that they give their approval for readmission to the respective countries more quickly so that the European rules are complied with."
In the Netherlands, anti-immigration firebrand Geert Wilders told the Dutch parliament: "The sooner the better... If Germany can do it, why can't we?"
Merz stormed out of the meeting - but Germany then announced a greater crackdown
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But ex-EU bigwig Donald Tusk - now the Polish PM - condemned the German move, labelling it "unacceptable" and a "de facto suspension of the Schengen agreement on a large scale".
And the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis also fumed at the decision - doubtless because it would lead to Greece, in its position dominating the eastern Mediterranean, having to take back the migrants Germany turns away.
He said it would be wrong to "move to a logic of ad hoc exemptions from the Schengen agreement, with border controls that will... hurt one of the fundamental achievements of the EU".
Though Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban greeted the move with glee, writing on social media: "Scholz, welcome to the club! #StopMigration."
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