German Chancellor, Interior Minister Meet to Discuss Migration Policy – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who heads the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who is a leader of the CDU Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) held on Saturday a meeting to discuss the country’s migration policy, local media reported.

Merkel met Seehofer in her residence with the meeting having lasted for some two hours, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Saturday. The outcome of the Merkel-Seehofer negotiations remains unknown.

On Sunday, the CDU and CSU will discuss during the inter-party sessions the way to overcome the government crisis erupted because of the differences on the migration issue.

Seehofer opposes the migration policy of Merkel and proposed to deny entry to the country for migrants without documents or who have already failed to get asylum in Germany. The interior minister believes that Berlin should act unilaterally. At the same time Merkel calls for the common EU solution of the migration issue.

On Thursday, the European Council summit agreed on several aspects of EU migration policy, including the establishment of "regional disembarkation platforms in close cooperation with relevant third countries" and controlled centers in the EU member states. The resettlement or relocation of migrants across the bloc is expected to be done on a voluntary basis amid the lack of consensus.

READ MORE: Over 10 EU Countries Ready to Help Germany in Deporting Migrants – Reports

European countries have been experiencing a severe migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa.