Angela Merkel (pictured) has been given just two weeks to find a Europe-wide agreement over the migrant crisis after receiving an ultimatum from her coalition partners

Angela Merkel has been given just two weeks to find a Europe-wide agreement over the migrant crisis after receiving an ultimatum from her coalition partners.

The German chancellor is battling to hold on to power amid a bitter row with her allies, the Christian Social Union, over immigration.

The CSU, under Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, today put on hold moves to defy Merkel and turn back some migrants at the border.

Instead, they gave her just two weeks for the near-impossible task of finding an accord with other European governments to solve the crisis.

But Merkel immediately rejected the threat, saying there would be 'no automatism' if no European deals were found, and warning Seehofer and his Bavarian CSU party that she is ultimately in charge of government policies.

Over the past week, a conflict between Seehofer and Merkel over migrant policy has escalated into a threat to her government. It comes with EU nations once again at loggerheads over immigration, triggered by Italy's refusal this month to allow a rescue ship carrying 630 migrants to dock.

The CSU, under Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (pictured), today put on hold moves to defy Merkel and turn back some migrants at the border

Wading into the crisis, US President Donald Trump tweeted today: 'The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition.

'We don't want what is happening with immigration in Europe to happen with us!"

Seehofer has been calling for Germany to turn back migrants previously registered as asylum-seekers in other European countries. Merkel opposes unilateral action, arguing that it would increase pressure on countries such as Italy and Greece and weaken the 28-nation European Union.

Seehofer heads the Bavaria-only CSU, the sister party to Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.

The CSU is determined to show that it's tough on migration, arguing that this is the best way to cut support for the far-right Alternative for Germany ahead of a challenging state election in Bavaria in October.

Trump blasts migration in Europe as causing 'culture' change Donald Trump has blamed migrants in Europe for what he inaccurately described as a rise in crime in Germany and for violently changing the culture. The US President also waded into the political crisis facing Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday, declaring that the German people were 'turning against their leadership' over immigration. 'We don't want what is happening with immigration in Europe to happen with us!' he said in a pair of tweets. Trump's highly intrusive comments came as Merkel was fighting to save her coalition government amid demands by her interior minister to turn back immigrants at the border. The US President added that what was happening with immigration in Germany presented a similar threat to the United States. 'The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition. Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!' Trump, said in a tweet. Donald Trump has blamed migrants in Europe for what he inaccurately described as a rise in crime in Germany and for violently changing the culture Trump's administration is facing strong criticism from rights activists, Democrats and some in his own Republican Party for separating children from their parents at the US-Mexican border, a policy aimed at deterring illegal immigration. Crime has fallen off dramatically in Germany, with the country's internal ministry reporting last month that criminal offenses in Germany totaled 5.76 million in 2017, the lowest number since 1992, leading to the lowest crime rate for the country in more than 30 years. However, despite an overall drop in crime in 2017, statistics released in May revealed Germany has seen an increase in anti-Semitic incidents. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer noted the increase in attacks on Jews, in particular by non-German perpetrators. A month earlier, Chancellor Angela Merkel called an attack on a Jewish man in Berlin by a Syrian migrant a 'new form of anti-Semitism', and Seehofer said his office is taking the issue seriously. Merkel's open-door migrant policy is widely blamed for the rise of the right-wing AfD, now the main opposition party in Germany's federal parliament. More than 1.6 million migrants, mostly Muslims fleeing wars in the Middle East, have arrived in Germany since 2014. Advertisement

A CSU leadership meeting in Munich unanimously backed Seehofer's plan to give Merkel until the end of the month to find a solution with other EU countries, dpa reported, citing unidentified participants in the ongoing meeting.

Monday's compromise means Seehofer can introduce immediate expulsion for one subset of migrants.

'We wish the chancellor much luck,' Seehofer told a news conference in Munich, announcing that he would nonetheless issue orders for people who have already been expelled to be turned back at the borders.

'This is not about winning time or anything like that but rather that in July, if there is no result at European level, we must implement this - that is a question for the functioning of our constitutional state,' he added.

Merkel welcomed compromise in the dispute, which has threatened to destabilise a coalition cobbled together just three months ago, and said her Christian Democrat (CDU) party would decide how to proceed after the two-week deadline elapsed.

'After the European Council, the (CDU) party presidency will decide what to do next,' she told a news conference. 'There is nothing automatic.'

Merkel has insisted that an EU-wide settlement can be reached at a June 28-29 Brussels summit, and says Seehofer's plan to turn away migrants who have previously been expelled would prejudice her chances of reaching that deal.

The row threatens to spell the end of Merkel's 13-year rule of Germany within days.

An act of rebellion from Seehofer could force her to sack him, which 'would be the end of the government and the alliance between CDU and CSU,' an unnamed CDU source told Bild.

It comes after a CSU MP suggested Merkel could be ousted by next week if she doesn't come up with a plan for the migrant crisis.

Kai Whittaker, a member of Ms Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, said infighting could weaken the ruling coalition and make her position untenable.

He said Germany could have a 'new situation' by the end of next week - later clarifying that he meant 'probably a new Chancellor'.

Merkel is desperate to find a common European solution to the migrant crisis at the June 28-29 European Union summit.

Seehofer has been one of the fiercest critics of Merkel's liberal stance that allowed a million asylum seekers into Germany since 2015.

Merkel now has a two-week ultimatum, with the Herculean challenge of persuading EU governments to sign up to a common plan on the migrants.

Central and eastern EU nations such as Hungary and Poland have either refused outright or resisted taking in refugees under an EU quota system that has essentially floundered.

Italian navy vessel Orione is pictured carrying migrants to the Spanish port of Valencia yesterday amid a growing crisis over how to deal with asylum seekers arriving in Europe

A populist-far right government in place in Italy, as well as the conservative-far right in power in neighbouring Austria, have also taken an uncompromising stance on immigration.

EU states are deeply divided on how to deal with large numbers of people fleeing conflict, especially from the Middle East.

The row boiled over this week when a boat carrying Libyan migrants rescued at sea was refused permission to dock on either Italy or Malta.

As the two states refused to help, some 630 desperate migrants were left terrified and in desperate need of medical attention off the coast of Italy.

They cried tears of joy as they were finally allowed in dry land in Spain today after nine-harrowing days at sea.

But the heartbreaking case highlights the deep divisions on immigration which commentators warn could tear the EU apart.

Merkel's talks on Monday evening with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte could prove crucial, if she is to have any chance of finding concordance in Brussels.

How Merkel could be toppled by crisis A German MP has suggested Angela Merkel's 13-year rule over Germany could come to an end. Here is the possible chain of events that could lead to her being ousted: - Merkel's Coalition partners the CSU, led by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, defy the chancellor and give the go ahead to turn away from the border migrants who have previously been registered in another EU country. - An act of rebellion from Seehofer could force her to sack him. - This 'would be the end of the government and the alliance' between Merkels' CDU and the CSU. - Weakened ruling coalition could make Merkel's position as chancellor untenable. Advertisement

On Tuesday, she will huddle with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Berlin is also reportedly preparing to call a meeting between Merkel and the leaders of several EU frontline nations in the migrant crisis ahead of the Brussels summit.

Underlining the unenviable task ahead for Merkel, Welt daily said 'it would be almost a miracle if she emerges a winner from the next EU summit.'

Three years after her decision to open Germany's borders to migrants fleeing war in Syria and Iraq and misery elsewhere, Merkel is still struggling to find a sustainable solution to end the grumbling from her Bavarian allies CSU over her liberal refugee policy.

Popular misgivings over the massive migrant influx have given populist and anti-immigration forces a boost across several European nations, including Italy and Austria where far-right parties are now sharing power.

In Germany, voters handed Merkel her poorest score in September's elections while giving seats for the first time to the far-right anti-Islam AfD.

Several high profile crimes by migrants - including the 2016 Christmas market attack by a failed Tunisian asylum seeker as well as the recent rape-murder of a teenage girl allegedly by an Iraqi - have also helped to fuel anger.

The NGO 'SOS Mediterranee' Aquarius ship is pictured coming into dock at the Spanish port of Valenica on Sunday morning. It was the second of three boats that finally arrived in Spain today after nine days at sea

The case of a German teenager who was believed to have been stabbed to death in a supermarket by her Afghan asylum seeker boyfriend is due to be heard in court on Monday.

With an eye on October's Bavaria state election, the CSU is anxious to assure voters that it has a roadmap to curb the migrant influx.

Seehofer's 'masterplan' on immigration was meant to be the showpiece of the CSU's tough stance against new arrivals.

But the interior minister was forced to cancel a planned presentation of his vision after Merkel disagreed with his proposal to turn some asylum seekers away at the borders, sparking last week's dramatic escalation of discord within the conservative bloc.

For all the noise, the CSU knows that there is more at stake.

Seehofer struck a more conciliatory tone when he told Bild on Sunday that 'it is not in the CSU's interest to topple the chancellor, to dissolve the CDU-CSU union or to break up the coalition.

'We just want to finally have a sustainable solution to send refugees back to the borders.'