German Opposition Leader Merz’s Migration Plan Approved by Parliament

The German Bundestag voted in favor of Friedrich Merz's five-point migration plan that would dramatically harden the country's migration and asylum laws.

Lawmakers passed a measure rejecting asylum seekers and other migrants at Germany's borders, although they expressed fears this could contravene both German and EU asylum laws.

Though the measure is non-binding, Merz can now call for a parliamentary vote on the passage of the law as early as this week.

Before the vote, Merz, who heads the CDU and is the party's chancellor candidate in the election, was accused of undermining his position of not cooperating with far-right

Alternative for Germany (AfD) to break the "firewall" and allow the measures to pass.

AfD chief whip Bernd Baumann said that this marked a "historic moment" and emphasized that a "countermovement against the left-green mainstream" had now arrived in Germany.

Scholz called this 'an unforgivable mistake'

Chancellor Olaf Scholz assailed Merkel's decision to accept votes from the AfD as "an unforgivable mistake" in a heated debate ahead of the vote.

Scholz pointed out that Merz's proposals ran counter to European asylum laws, such as the Geneva Convention, and German law.

He argued that Merz's proposals would breach EU law, something "no German chancellor would ever have done."

Merz, in response, called the European immigration and asylum system "dysfunctional" and maintained that his measures were necessary to address crimes committed by asylum seekers.

In response to criticism about collaborating with the far-right, Merz admitted that receiving votes from the AfD made him "extremely uncomfortable." However, he ultimately concluded that it was essential to address violence in Germany.