Germany needs to limit the number of refugees it takes in or even close its borders, conservative allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said over the weekend, as the country deals with record inflows of people fleeing war and poverty.
Around 800,000 migrants are expected to arrive this year in Germany, Europe's largest and richest economy, and complaints are growing among politicians, the federal states and the municipalities that they cannot cope.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Europe needed to restrict the refugee intake, and members of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party to Merkel's conservatives in Bavaria, said Germany should shut its borders. Bavaria shares a border with Austria and has borne the brunt of the influx.