By
our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online
Munich, Germany (dpa) – Germany will not see a quick end to border
controls, Bavarian Premier – and leader of Angela Merkel‘s key
political ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU) – Horst Seehofer
said at his party‘s conference in Munich on Saturday.
“We don‘t want this to be permanent,” Seehofer said. However,
controls had to be maintained so long as the European Union‘s
external borders are not properly protected, for the security of
Germany and its citizens, according to the CSU leader.
Germany recently toughened up its border controls after Seehofer
forced the issue following weeks of negotiations with Chancellor
Angela Merkel.
“The state has to provide its citizens with the one thing the
terrorists want to take away from it, and that is security,” he said.
His comments came just a week after the November 13 terrorist attacks
in Paris that left 130 dead.
Seehofer again announced additional police staff for his home state.
He also repeated his call for limits on the numbers of asylum seekers
entering Germany, despite Merkel‘s rejection of the proposal during
her conference speech on Friday.
CSU delegates earlier had voted in favour of an upper limit. However,
no CSU representative has so far put a clear figure on what number
they want.
Bavaria has emerged as a frontline state with thousands of asylum
seekers streaming across its border each day after making the trek
north from southern Europe.
So far more than 500,000 refugees had entered Germany via Bavaria,
Seehofer said on Saturday.
Leaders are on high alert after it emerged that one of the Paris
attackers might have entered Europe via the Balkan migration route.
The CSU later on Saturday re-elected Seehofer as its party leader
with 87.2 per cent of the vote.
However, the vote indicates that not everyone in the party is happy
with Seehofer‘s policies. The result is his lowest so far in his
seven-year run as party leader and Bavarian premier. Two years ago,
he won with 95.3 per cent.
Seehofer has recently emerged as one of Merkel‘s foremost critics in
the migration debate, repeatedly opposing her in public on her
open-doors policy.
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