BERLIN (AP) — Germany's interior minister is expected to hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's party after offering his resignation in a bitter dispute over migration policy, but there's little sign of a possible compromise.

The three-week dispute pits Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and his Bavaria-only Christian Social Union against Merkel, the head of its longtime sister party, the Christian Democratic Union.

Ahead of a difficult Bavarian state election in October, the CSU is determined to show it's tough on migration. Seehofer wants to turn some asylum-seekers back at Germany's border, but Merkel is adamant that Germany shouldn't take unilateral action.

Seehofer, who reportedly argues that measures to tackle migration agreed at a European Union summit last week aren't enough, said early Monday he would hold talks during the day with the CDU. </s> Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was on Sunday night once again fighting for her political future after her interior minister slammed the migration deal she secured with her EU counterparts last week as “ineffective”.

Horst Seehofer, Germany’s Interior Minister and leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), said on Sunday that he now saw “no alternative” but to turn back some migrants at the German border, a party source told Reuters news agency.

Mr Seehofer, one of Mrs Merkel’s biggest political rivals, also said the matter was affecting the "credibility" of his role as party leader, hinting at a possible resignation.

Two weeks ago he gave Mrs Merkel an ultimatum to find a European solution to irregular migration by this Sunday, or he would defy her by turning migrants back at the border against her wishes.

After a two-day summit with EU leaders in Brussels last week, Mrs Merkel believed she had struck such a deal.

However, Mr Seehofer apparently does not agree.

After an “ineffective” two-hour meeting on Saturday night between Mrs Merkel and Mr Seehofer, the two leaders met with their respective parties for separate meetings in Munich and Berlin on Sunday night. </s> Berlin: The fate of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling bloc hangs in the balance as a coalition dispute over migration policy reaches its endgame.

Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party were to hold joint talks in Berlin in an effort to broker an 11th-hour compromise after separate discussions that dragged into the early morning hours of Monday failed to end the standoff.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who heads the Bavarian Christian Social Union, said he had proposed resigning from Merkel's cabinet but put that threat on hold to allow for more talks with the CDU in the hopes of reaching an understanding "for the sake of the country" and the coalition government.

"All other steps will be decided after the discussion" with Merkel's party, Seehofer said after the CSU meeting ended shortly before 2 am on Monday.

The last-ditch attempt at an agreement follows a day of drama on Sunday that ended with Merkel's party rallying behind the chancellor and the migration plan she helped negotiate with fellow European Union leaders last week. That backing raised the pressure on the CDU's Bavarian ally - one of three coalition parties - to back away from a full-blown government crisis. </s> Questions around Europe’s handling of migration and asylum applications continued to cause a political headache on Sunday night as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, sought to calm tensions with conservative allies inside her coalition government.

After the European Union last week hammered out a vague accord on migration, promising to set up secure centres to process the asylum claims of people rescued in the Mediterranean, Merkel drew up her own raft of measures to tighten controls on the influx of migrants to Germany and presented it to her sceptical coalition partners, the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU).

Germany’s coalition government is under immense strain, after the hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer – also leader of the CSU – threatened to turn away any asylum claimants already registered in another EU country, unless Merkel came up with a solution by Sunday night.

But after Merkel set out fresh German migration measures to calm the row, Seehofer reportedly voiced his dissatisfaction with Merkel’s deal in a closed meeting with fellow CSU party leaders on Sunday afternoon.

The interior minister complained in Munich that he had engaged Merkel in a “conversation with no effect” about his plan to turn away asylum seekers already registered in other EU countries, the sources said.

Merkel is engaged in a fight for her political survival with the rebellious CSU, which has pressured her for weeks to get tough on immigration and asylum as it fears being outflanked to the right by anti-immigrant, anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Facing regional elections in October, the CSU, the sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), has been pushing for tougher rules on migration.

The chancellor rejects Seehofer’s plan for Germany to unilaterally turn away at the border already-registered asylum seekers, preferring to seek cooperation with Germany’s neighbours.

Merkel fears that if Germany closes its borders it will set off a chain reaction that destroys Europe’s border-free travel zone, regarded by the EU as one of its greatest achievements, as well as a linchpin of jobs and prosperity.

Merkel drew up a raft of plans to tighten controls on the influx of migrants, according to a document submitted to her coalition partners at the weekend. At her urging, EU leaders last week agreed a slew of measures to reduce immigration to the bloc and so-called “secondary migration” of asylum seekers between countries.

Merkel also said she had struck deals with 16 other countries for them to take back already-registered asylum seekers. But central European nations including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia denied any such agreement. “Germany has not addressed us and I will not sign this agreement,” Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš said in a statement. “No negotiations have taken place between the Czech Republic and Germany on this question,” he added.

Merkel on Sunday said she wanted her Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian allies to continue working together. She told German broadcaster ZDF that differences with the CSU only related to the way to achieve a reduction in migration, not to the goal as such.

She said: “I share the CSU’s aim of on the one hand reducing the number of immigrants being brought to Europe by smugglers, and on the other hand I also share the view that asylum seekers can’t simply choose which country they want to go to.”

If Seehofer rejects Merkel’s approach and orders border police to begin turning away already-registered asylum seekers, she would be forced to fire him, effectively exploding her conservative camp and robbing her ruling coalition with the Social Democratic party (SPD) of a majority in parliament.

While most analysts expect Merkel to survive the clash with the CSU, it is unlikely to be the last occasion on which the sister party seeks to distance itself from a chancellor it sees as too centrist for its own supporters.

Spain’s maritime rescue service on Sunday picked up 160 people from five boats that were crossing the dangerous Strait of Gibraltar from northern Africa.

The rescue service said 57 migrants were rescued from three boats on Sunday morning and brought ashore in Tarifa, at the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula. Another rescue vessel took 103 people to Algeciras, a large port city to the east.

The number of people reaching Europe by the so-called western Mediterranean land and sea route to Spain has surpassed boat arrivals to Italy this year. </s> German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday will make a last-ditch effort to end a migration row with her conservative allies by holding more talks with her interior minister, whose offer to resign cast doubt over whether her fragile government can survive.

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a last-ditch effort to resolve a row over migrant policy with her conservative allies on Monday after a top minister threatened to resign, casting doubt on whether her coalition can survive.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer offered to quit his cabinet post and the chairmanship of Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) at a party meeting on Sunday. It was unclear whether this was high-risk brinkmanship aimed at making Merkel back down or whether he has simply had enough.

The CSU had threatened to impose new controls at the German border this week if they deemed that agreements and proposals Merkel brought back from a European Union summit were insufficient to ease the migrant burden.

Merkel is deadset against unilateral action by the authorities in Bavaria, the main entry point for migrants into Germany, saying it goes against European law.

Seehofer was later persuaded by party colleagues to talk to Merkel one last time on Monday to try to settle the dispute, declaring he would make his final decision within three days.

Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) rely on the CSU to maintain power through a coalition, also including the Social Democrats, formed three months ago after an election in September.

Germany's political crisis is the latest sign of a divide across the EU between those who want to maintain open borders and those who want to restrict the number of migrants entering the bloc.

The ructions in Berlin put pressure on the euro currency on Monday and Germany's top share index opened more than one percent lower.

Merkel and Seehofer are due to meet later in the day. Before that, a joint session of the CSU and CDU parliamentary groups is scheduled to take place, although there was some doubt whether it would go ahead.

CDU lawmakers are still backing Merkel. But the CSU is split itself on how far to push the row with the CDU, and faces a tough regional election in October with a strong challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

By letting the CSU tear itself apart over its future in the coalition, Merkel may yet rid herself of a formidable foe in Seehofer - as she has with a string of other top conservatives in her 12-1/2 years in office.

Bad blood between the two runs deep.

Seehofer, 68, a combative figure who tends to speak with a smile, has been a thorn in her side for years, especially over her open-door migrant policy and the last three years have been punctuated by a series of showdowns between the two.

He told colleagues on Sunday he saw no alternative to turning migrants back at the border despite Merkel's efforts in Brussels last week and that discussions with the chancellor had been fruitless, according to a party source.

Some party meetings got underway on Monday as CDU lawmakers lined up to urge compromise. "This is democracy, and both sides must move," senior CDU lawmaker Carsten Linnemann told broadcaster ZDF.

Veteran CDU lawmaker and former finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned that the conservative bloc was standing on the edge of abyss and called for both sides to agree.

Even Bavarian premier Markus Soeder, known to take a tougher line on migrant policy even than Seehofer, said reaching a solution was very important. "One thing is clear: the stability of the government is not a question for us," Soeder said, adding that he was surprised Seehofer offered to quit.

If the row is not resolved, the 70-year old CDU-CSU alliance may break up, robbing Merkel of her parliamentary majority. This could see her trying to lead a minority government, or seek a new election.

Merkel would be only two seats short of a majority in the Bundestag lower house and may choose to rely on the Greens or pro-business Free Democrats to back her on individual policies, or possibly try to agree a more formal alliance.

She could also call a vote of no confidence, which she may win or which may trigger a new election. Opinion polls suggest the AfD would be the biggest winner in any fresh vote.

Even if Merkel, once Europe's most powerful leader, limps on as chancellor, she is widely seen as having lost control of her parliamentary group and her authority is waning. </s> A resolution to Germany’s government crisis proved elusive Sunday after the head of the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union in Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc offered his resignation rather than back down from his stance against the chancellor’s migration policies.

A nearly eight-hour meeting of the CSU in Munich was put on hold after the party’s leader, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, made his offer to resign both from Merkel’s Cabinet and as head of the CSU.

After further talks with a smaller group of CSU officials seeking to change his mind, Seehofer said he had agreed to meet again with Merkel’s party before he made his decision final.

“We’ll have more talks today with the CDU in Berlin with the hope that we can come to an agreement,”Seehofer told reporters just before 2 a.m. Monday. “After that, then we will see.”

Officials of Merkel’s Christian Democrat party broke off their own separate meeting in Berlin about an hour earlier, saying they would resume at 8:30 a.m.

If Seehofer does step down, it is not immediately clear what effect the move would have on a three-week impasse between Merkel and her CSU partners, which has centered on his resolve to turn away some types of asylum-seekers at Germany’s borders.

Merkel has insisted on Europe-wide solutions to handling the waves of foreigners trying to reach the continent and the standoff could spell the end of her fourth government.

Merkel maintained earlier Sunday that a plan to regulate immigration that European Union leaders approved Friday and other agreements she hashed out with several key countries would accomplish what Seehofer seeks.

“The sum total of everything we have agreed upon has the same effect” as what Seehofer has demanded, Merkel said in an interview with ZDF television. “That is my personal opinion. The CSU must naturally decide that for itself.”

But the German news agency dpa reported that Seehofer told the meeting of CSU officials that he thinks the measures do not adequately accomplish his goals. Seehofer did not comment on that during his brief statement to journalists after his party’s meeting.

Seehofer, whose party faces a state election in the fall with a strong challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany party, has threatened to turn away at the borders migrants whose asylum requests Germany already rejected or who already sought asylum elsewhere in Europe.

Merkel has rejected that approach, saying Germany needs to address migration more broadly to preserve EU unity. If Seehofer were to go ahead with his policies, the dispute could end the decades-old conservative alliance between the CSU and the CDU.

The leader of the opposition Left Party, Katja Kipping, slammed Seehofer, saying that the “CSU is taking all of Germany and Europe hostage for an internal power struggle.”

“Horst Seehofer is not concerned with finding a solution to migration policy; he wants to open the door to right-wing populism and overthrow the chancellor,” she said.

Merkel and Seehofer met Saturday night for two hours. The German leader would not comment Sunday on the talks. She also would not speculate on whether she might fire him or if the issue could lead to a government confidence vote in parliament.

She said she would wait to see what the leadership of the two parties decides “and then we will see what comes next, step for step.”

Merkel reiterated her position that if countries start turning migrants away at national borders unilaterally, it would cause neighboring countries to close their borders and jeopardize the border-free movement within the EU.

She said the decision by leaders of European Union countries Friday to strengthen the 28-nation bloc’s exterior borders and her proposal for “anchor centers” to process migrants at Germany’s borders would work better.

“I want Europe to remain together,” she said. “That is why the unified action of Europe is so important to me.”

Merkel also secured agreement from Greece and Spain to take back from Germany migrants who previously registered in those countries. She said 14 other nations had given verbal assent to work toward similar deals.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> Germany's interior minister has offered his resignation after a conflict with Angela Merkel over migration policy, party figures say.

Horst Seehofer has been at odds with the chancellor over her approach to mass migration.

He has threatened to turn away some categories of asylum seekers at the German border while Mrs Merkel has sought a European solution.

Sources in Mr Seehofer's party - Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) - said he wanted to "step down" as interior minister and chairman of his party, as he enjoys "no support".

The CSU tried for weeks to get Mrs Merkel to agree to reject asylum seekers at the border if they had already registered in other countries or to get a similar deal from the European Union by 1 July.

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Image: Angela Merkel and interior minister Horst Seehofer

Mr Seehofer complained in Sunday's closed meeting with party bosses that his conversation with the chancellor had "no effect", sources said.

Germany's DPA news agency reported that some members of Mr Seehofer's party were trying to change his mind on the resignation.

It is not clear what effect Mr Seehofer's resignation could have on Mrs Merkel's government, which has looked increasingly precarious during the three-week stand-off.

The CSU and Mrs Merkel's CDU (Christian Democratic Union) have been allies since 1949 but the CSU faces a state election in Bavaria in October, and its anti-immigration stance is its main campaign platform. </s> BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives settled a row over migration that threatened to topple her fragile governing coalition late on Monday evening after talks with her rebellious interior minister led him to drop his threat to resign.

Emerging after five hours of talks, Horst Seehofer, leader of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), told reporters he would remain in his post after a deal with Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) that he said would stem illegal immigration.

“After intensive discussions between the CDU and CSU we have reached an agreement on how we can in future prevent illegal immigration on the border between Germany and Austria,” he told reporters on leaving the CDU’s Berlin headquarters.

Under the deal, outlined by the CDU’s general secretary Annagret Kramp-Karrenbauer, migrants who have already applied for asylum in other European Union countries will be held in transit centers on the border while Germany negotiates bilateral deals for their return.

The row had stretched a 70-year-old alliance between the two parties to the breaking point. Under the alliance, CDU left the CSU to fly the conservative flag in the wealthy southern state of Bavaria.

The compromise deal meant that Seehofer was able to hail tighter immigration controls, while Merkel was able to say that Germany adhered to EU rules and was committed to the principles of freedom movement within the bloc.

“The spirit of partnership in the European Union is preserved and at the same time an important step to order (has been taken), Merkel told reporters.

But the crisis, the latest of several rows over migration between the two parties, is another sign of the EU-wide divide between those who want to maintain open borders and those who want to restrict the number of migrants entering the bloc.

Merkel’s CDU relies on the CSU to maintain power through a coalition, which also includes the center-left Social Democrats.

The CSU faces a strong challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany in October’s regional election.

Even if the immigration dispute has now been settled, it leaves Seehofer, who has gone back on a threat to resign, diminished, experts said. The dispute, and Monday’s compromise, are also a sign that the authority of Merkel, once Europe’s most powerful leader, is waning after 12-1/2 years in office. </s> BERLIN (AP) — A senior aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging unity in the German leader's conservative bloc amid recriminations over an embarrassing state election performance.

Merkel's Christian Democratic Union was beaten into third place by the nationalist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany in Sunday's vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where Merkel has her parliamentary constituency.

The Bavarian branch of Merkel's Union bloc, the Christian Social Union, has long criticized her approach to the migrant crisis. CSU leader Horst Seehofer complained Monday his "repeated demand for a change of course" wasn't heeded and sought a "clarification" of policies by October.

FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2011 file picture Bavarian State Governor and Chairman of German Christian Social Union party, CSU, Horst Seehofer, looks on during a party convention of the German Christian Social Union, CSU, in Nuremberg, southern Germany. A senior aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging unity in the German leader¿s conservative bloc amid recriminations over an embarrassing state election performance. The Bavarian branch of Merkel¿s Union bloc, the Christian Social Union, has long criticized her approach to the migrant crisis. CSU leader Horst Seehofer complained Monday Sept. 6, 2016 his "repeated demand for a change of course" wasn¿t heeded and sought a ¿clarification¿ of policies by October. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader,file)

CDU general secretary Peter Tauber pointed to forthcoming votes including a state election in Berlin Sept. 18. He said Tuesday: "Our supporters and members ... expect one thing above all of the Union: unity."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces resistance by the Bavarian CSU over the result of the EU asylum policy summit last week.