Merkel under pressure from her own ahead of EU migration summit
Chancellor Angela Merkel came under renewed pressure from her own conservatives on November 27 to stem the flow of refugees into Germany as she heads to a weekend summit of European Union leaders and Turkey's prime minister.
Roughly a million refugees and migrants fleeing war and deprivation in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are expected to arrive in Germany this year alone - the majority of those reaching Europe - and local authorities are struggling to cope.
Merkel has faced intense pressure from her own conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), to change course on her open-door refugee policy. They gave her a final reminder on November 27.
"Immigration is to be limited to a dimension that does not exceed society's acceptance and which also guarantees the country's long-term integration capacity," conservative interior policy officials from both the federal and state level said in a statement after meeting in Berlin.
Germany cannot take in all refugees and displaced people, they added.
In an address to parliament on November 25, Merkel said she would stick to her open-door refugee policy, defying criticism at home and abroad which has intensified due to fears about a potential security risk after the Islamist attacks in Paris.
Merkel wants a multi-pronged solution to the crisis, centered on working with other EU countries and Turkey. Others in her ruling coalition want to cap Germany's refugee intake.
European and Turkish officials are working to smooth out their remaining differences on an agreement to help stem flows of migrants to Europe, which they hope will be signed on November 29.
German government sources said they were optimistic an action plan could be agreed with Turkey and signed at November 29's summit.