The German Bundestag passed Friedrich Merz's so-called five-point migration plan — which promised a dramatic tightening of the country's migration and asylum law — through parliament. MPs narrowly voted in favour of turning away asylum seekers and other migrants back at Germany's borders — despite criticism that this could break both German and EU asylum law.

Germany's opposition conservatives won parliamentary approval on Wednesday for a proposal to drastically restrict migration with the help of votes from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), breaking a taboo on cooperation with the far-right.

German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz succeeded on Wednesday in getting a motion passed in parliament that calls for a migration crackdown including the rejection of asylum seekers at the country's land borders.