Merkel has faced intense pressure from her own conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), to change course on her open-door refugee policy. They gave her a final reminder on Friday.
"Immigration is to be limited to a dimension that does not exceed society`s acceptance and which also guarantees the country`s long-term integration capacity," conservative interior policy officials from both the federal and state level said in a statement after meeting in Berlin.
Germany cannot take in all refugees and displaced people, they added
In an address to parliament on Wednesday, Merkel said she would stick to her open-door refugee policy, defying criticism at home and abroad which has intensified due to fears about a potential security risk after the Islamist attacks in Paris.
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