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The
row is over Merkel's rejection of plans by Interior Minister
Horst Seehofer, from Bavaria, for Germany unilaterally to send
back migrants who have registered in other European Union
countries.
Such a reversal of her 2015 open-door migrant policy would be a
huge blow to the authority of Merkel, in power for more than 12
years, and undermine the Schengen open-border system at a time
when EU tensions over migration are running high.
In her weekly podcast, three days before talks between Merkel
and French President Emmanuel Macron outside Berlin, the
chancellor hammered home her stance:
"This is a European challenge that also needs a European
solution. And I view this issue as decisive for keeping Europe
together," she said.
Merkel wants two weeks to try to strike bilateral deals with
partners, such as Italy and Greece, on migrants and to make
progress at an EU summit on June 28-29 on an EU-wide policy.
Seehofer's Christian Social Union (CSU), facing a tough state
vote in October, doesn't want to wait. Members say the minister
will defy Merkel on Monday if no compromise has been reached by
then, and go ahead with the plans alone.
Such an affront to Merkel could force her to fire Seehofer, and
there is even talk of the end of the 70-year conservative
parliamentary alliance between Bavaria and Merkel's Christian
Democrats (CDU).
Without the CSU, the CDU and Social Democrats (SPD), the third
party in her "grand coalition", would lack a majority.
Last week, Merkel confronted the risk of losing the full support
of her own CDU, many of whom support the CSU's tougher line. But
she won over a majority of her lawmakers on Thursday and most
are now behind her.
Merkel's refugee policy, which has led to more than 1.6 million
migrants arriving in Germany in the last three years, is widely
blamed for a surge in support for the far-right Alternative for
Germany (AfD), which entered parliament after a September
election and is the main opposition party.
In her podcast, Merkel also said Germany and France, the EU's
strongest axis despite some differences, would try to give new
momentum to European cooperation on foreign, defense and
security policy to contribute to a strong and unified Europe.
She also said the partners would work on further developing the
economic and currency union and innovation.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, editing by Larry King)
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