2015-09-13theguardian.com

Most of those arriving in Germany have an overwhelming case for asylum, but the country's regions say they are close to collapse. Merkel's coalition government has promised the Länder an extra ¤3bn (£2.2bn). The regions say that this isn't enough. On Thursday, regional interior ministers held a mutinous conference call with their federal boss, Thomas de Maizière. They told him that, unless Berlin made army barracks available, Germany would have to shut its borders.

Criticism of Merkel's decision to allow unregistered refugees to enter the country has been growing. The Bavarian CSU, sister party to Merkel's CDU, is scathing. "This is a mistake that will occupy us for a long time to come," CSU leader Horst Seehofer told Der Spiegel. He added: "I don't see any way of putting the stopper back in the bottle." Another CSU politician, Hans-Peter Friedrich, called it "an unparalleled political mistake".



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