After weeks of tensions within the conservative alliance of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) over Germany’s handling of refugees and migrants, the chancellor, Angela Merkel (CDU), and her interior minister, Horst Seehofer (CSU), claim to have reached a compromise.



What happened and why was it important?

Germany is to establish so-called transit zones along the southern border in Bavaria to facilitate the accelerated removal of refugees and migrants who have no entitlement to seek asylum in Germany. The decision aims to bring to an end a longstanding row over Germany’s asylum policy, sparked by the refugee crisis of 2015, which has proved the biggest challenge in the almost 14 years of Merkel’s chancellorship. But questions loom over a deal that both Merkel and Seehofer are claiming as a victory, not least how it can be effectively implemented and whether it will get the approval of the CDU and CSU’s other partner in the grand coalition, the Social Democrats. The SPD roundly rejected a similar proposal by the CDU in 2015.

The deal follows weeks of conflict, with Seehofer threatening to unilaterally close the Bavarian border to people who had applied for asylum elsewhere in the EU – a move that Merkel rejected because of fears it would threaten the EU partnership and could lead to the end of the passport-free Schengen zone. The row has threatened to bring down Germany’s coalition government.

What was agreed?

The CDU and CSU have agreed that so-called transit centres are the most effective way to secure Germany’s southern border, through which most of the newcomers have arrived, and to ensure that refugees whose asylum cases are the responsibility of countries other than Germany can be prevented from entering German territory.

According to the plan, asylum seekers who have already registered in other countries with whom Merkel has secured a bilateral deal can be deported back to the relevant country after a short stay in the transit centre. There they would have their case for asylum heard according to EU rules.

Others would be returned immediately, without entering the transit zone, if the EU country from which they have travelled has not signed up to a bilateral deal.

The main obstacle to this is that so far no deal has been secured with Austria, from where most refugees arrive in Bavaria, and it remains unclear whether Austria will be prepared to sign up to such a deal. So far the Austrian government has said it will wait to see details of the German proposal before deciding how to proceed, but a government spokesman said the country was preparing to tighten its border controls.

The rules are confusing and likely to be complicated to implement.

What is a transit centre or zone, and what might it look like?

The zones or centres could feasibly be fenced or guarded metal container accommodation or tent camps. They would be located directly on the border in so-called exterritorial zones – that is to say, on German soil but, legally speaking, not in Germany.

The asylum seeker would be obliged to live and sleep in these contained buildings and would undergo a fast-track administrative process. During this time the asylum seeker would not be entitled to leave the transit zone. It remains unclear for how long an asylum seeker would be detained at the border. There are some suggestions it could be around a week.

What are the outstanding questions or obstacles?

The SPD has to agree on the compromise. In 2015 when something similar was proposed by the CDU, it rejected the idea, likening transit zones to detention centres for refugees, and in some cases comparing them to concentration camps.

Criticism has also come from the police, whose presence will be vital in ensuring the transit zones work. Jörg Radek, deputy chair of the police trade union, has called the idea “an old chestnut”, pointing out that its main flaw is that it is limited to the 500-mile German-Austrian border. Germany’s remaining stretch of border is around 1,860 miles long.

The police argue that many people enter Germany outside of the main control points (there are currently three of them) on the German-Austrian border. Legally, those who do so will not be able to be put into transit centres, as they will already be miles away from the border. Arguably the new system would encourage people to enter Germany illegally along the vast swathes of so-called “green border”.

Will the deal clear the air between Merkel and Seehofer?

In the short term, maybe, but after such a personal and chronic squabble, which has exhausted any trust that may once have existed between the long-term rivals, it is hard to see how they can continue to work together effectively.

As to whether it was worth it to have pushed the coalition government to the brink of collapse, the CSU will have to wait until 14 October, when Bavarians will go to the polls for a state election, to find out. The CSU wants to claw back the thousands of votes it has lost to the rightwing populist Alternative für Deutschland, but opinion polls suggest the row has done little to increase trust in the party.