German EU commissioner warns Merkel allies in migration spat

BERLIN – Germany’s representative on the European Union’s executive is warning Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies against escalating a conflict over migration further, arguing that they are weakening the country’s standing in the EU.

Bavaria’s Christian Social Union party is fighting with Merkel over its demand that some migrants should be turned back at Germany’s borders. It has given her two weeks to reach agreement with European partners. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, the CSU’s leader, is threatening to go ahead unilaterally with his plans if she doesn’t — potentially threatening the governing coalition.

EU budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger, a member of Merkel’s party, told Friday’s Handelsblatt newspaper that his colleagues in Brussels have often praised Germany for its stability “but now the CSU is damaging Germany’s ability to act in the EU.”