Merkel slammed for 'open door' policy
Michael Nienaber
November 16, 2015, 12:47 pm
Bavarian allies have cranked up pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to reverse her "open-door" refugee policy, saying the deadly attacks in Paris underlined the need for tougher measures to control the influx of migrants.
The coordinated assault in the French capital, in which at least 129 people were killed, has fuelled a debate in Germany over Merkel's welcoming approach to refugees and on how to pin down better intelligence about people entering the country.
The holder of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the gunmen from Friday night's attacks passed through Greece in October, a Greek minister said, and another suspected attacker was thought to have entered Europe the same way.
"The days of uncontrolled immigration and illegal entry can't continue just like that. Paris changes everything," Bavarian Finance Minister Markus Soeder told Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.
His comments came after Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer, leader of Merkel's sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), urged better protection of Germany's frontier and called for stricter controls at Europe's external borders.
"The CSU stands behind the chancellor, but it would be good if Angela Merkel acknowledged that the opening of the border for an unlimited period of time was a mistake," Soeder said.
The Bavarian security cabinet is expected to meet later on Sunday to discuss steps in the wake of the Paris attacks, in which the Foreign Ministry said one German citizen was among those killed.
