Migrant crisis: Germany moves to cut asylum claims Published duration 28 January 2016 Related Topics Europe migrant crisis

image copyright Getty Images image caption Germany is struggling to deal with a growing number of asylum seekers

Germany has unveiled plans to add Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia to its list of safe countries, as it tries to curb growing numbers of migrants.

Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said nationals from those countries would now be unlikely to be granted asylum.

The move is part of new measures aimed at tightening rules in a country which last year received more than 1.1 million asylum seekers.

The migrants died near the island of Samos, near Turkey. Ten of the victims were children.

In other developments:

Six bodies were discovered by the Italian navy in a sinking dinghy off the Libyan coast

The Netherlands proposed sending migrants reaching Greece back to Turkey by ferry

Sweden said as many as 80,000 people who arrived to the country last year could fail in their requests for asylum and face deportation

Strained relations

Mr Gabriel's comments came after his Social Democrats held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and their Bavaria-based sister party, the Christian Social Union.

"The mood is good," Mr Gabriel was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Morocco has already responded to the proposal, saying it would repatriate any of its nationals who had arrived illegally in Germany.

The German coalition partners also agreed that migrants with restricted asylum status would be unable to bring relatives into the country for two years.

The deportation of failed asylum seekers would also be speeded up.

The migrant issue has been straining the coalition, with the CSU threatening to take Mrs Merkel's government to court if the party's demand to stem the flow of asylum seekers is not dealt with decisively.

The coalition proposals still need to be approved by the government and parliament.

Where Europe is failing on migrants