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The proposal would make it easier for Germany to deny asylum requests from migrants from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco on the grounds they are deemed safe in their own home countries. It is thought the plans would also deter citizens from the three Maghreb countries from illegally heading to the European Union in future.

GETTY Merkel called for North African countries to be added to the list of safe countries

But the embattled German Chancellor saw her plans put on ice, as opposition parties blocked the proposals over concerns the countries were not actually safe for migrants to return to. And critics argue that even if Tunisia had been considered a “safe place of origin,” it would not have stopped the Berlin terror attack carried out by 24-year-old Tunisian suspect Anis Amri.

GETTY Angela Merkel will now how to come up with new immigration ideas

The issue of asylum seekers from North Africa exploded in January last year when hundreds of women were sexually assaulted during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Cologne and elsewhere by rampaging mobs of migrants from Algeria and Morocco and also Iraq. And just months later, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) issued its call for the North African countries to be added to the list in a bid to speed up deportations. But on Friday "safe countries" plan was rejected by the leftist Greens and Linke parties, after they voiced concerns over the rights records of those countries - including on the treatment of homosexuals.

'MERKEL MUST GO': Brussels protest against German Chancellor Tue, February 14, 2017 Angry campaigners held placards with slogans reading 'Merkel not welcomed' and 'Merkel must go' following a spate of terror attacks against Germany. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 11 Protest on the sidelines of Angela Merkel's official visit in Brussels

Grave human rights violations, political persecution, extra-legal killings and torture are common in Morocco and Algeria. Ulla Jelpke, Left Party spokesman

Ulla Jelpke, Left Party spokesman, said ahead of the Bundesrat's vote: "Grave human rights violations, political persecution, extra-legal killings and torture are common in Morocco and Algeria. “Tunisia is ruled by a regime that has declared a permanent state of emergency. And gays and lesbians are persecuted in all three countries." Dieter Lauinger, a Green politician, added that poor approval rates alone should not mean that Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria should be considered safe.

GETTY Tunisia is one of the countries deemed to be safe

GETTY Critics say proposals would not have stopped the Berlin terror attack

Only 2.8 percent of asylum applications requested by migrants from the Maghreb countries were granted last year. And he added that the number of asylum applications from those countries had dwindled to very low levels - 268 in February this year. He added: “The problem isn't with the numbers but deporting people back to these countries. “So declaring them safe countries won't do any good."

REUTERS Germany has accepted more than a million new arrivals since 2015