Germany recorded a steep decline in asylum seeker arrivals in April, official data showed Monday, after the closure of the popular route used by migrants through the Balkans.
Germany's Angela Merkel has protested the closure of the Balkans refugee route -- but critics accuse her government of hypocrisy, as Berlin also tries to reduce the influx.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday criticised an eastern European proposal to close the Balkans refugee route and vowed to push for a plan with Turkey to reduce the influx at an EU summit.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that closing borders within Europe could lead to military conflict in the Balkans as she once again sought to defend her refugee policies on Monday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted on Monday that Germany and Europe's policy towards the large numbers of refugees arriving in 2015 has been "anything but perfect" – but insisted that the country could rise to the challenge.
European Union and Balkan leaders struggled Sunday to reduce tensions over how to tackle the migrant crisis at an EU summit involving Germany and other key nations in the migrant crisis.
Germany on Tuesday toughened rules for asylum seekers from the Balkans as Europe struggled to cope with a surge in migrants, with new figures showing more than half a million have crossed the Mediterranean this year.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday that Europe must work out a fairer way of sharing refugees, days after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the refugee crisis would likely prove a greater political challenge for Europe than Greece.
Germany made it harder Friday for people from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia to apply for asylum after lawmakers classified the three Balkan countries as safe, with respect for basic rights.
Balkan countries have a "clear prospect" of joining the European Union, but the process will be long, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a podcast released on Saturday.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle warned Serbia Thursday that it had no chance of joining the European Union unless it adopted a "cooperative" stance on Kosovo.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle embarked Wednesday on a tour of the former Yugoslavia preparing a tough message for Serbia on Kosovo while encouraging the region's European Union ambitions.
A trial opened in Germany on Wednesday with all the elements of a 21st-century spy thriller: the Balkan criminal underworld, betrayal of state secrets and careless pillow-talk to a gay lover.
