The German Bundestag passed Friedrich Merz's so-called five-point migration plan — which promised a dramatic tightening of the country's migration and asylum law — through parliament. MPs narrowly voted in favour of turning away asylum seekers and other migrants back at Germany's borders — despite criticism that this could break both German and EU asylum law.

German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz succeeded on Wednesday in getting a motion passed in parliament that calls for a migration crackdown including the rejection of asylum seekers at the country's land borders.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed into Germany’s contentious election campaign, criticizing fellow Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz over his decision to force through a hard-line immigration resolution in parliament with votes from the far right.

The front-runner to be Germany's next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has faced criticism for accepting support from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. View on euronews

With less than four weeks before Germany’s federal election, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who is leading polls, will take their contentious battle over how to crack down on illegal migration to parliament.