German "grand coalition" parties reach compromise on reunification of refugee families

BERLIN, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union (CSU), and German Social Democrats (SPD) have reached a politically-significant compromise on immigration policy during the final-stage coalition negotiations on Tuesday.

According to the new joint proposal, a temporary regulation which currently severely constrains the right of refugees to family reunification will be lifted by Berlin on July 31, 2018.

After this point, a total of up to 1,000 close relatives of humanitarian migrants who have already received asylum or subsidiary protection will be allowed to follow them to Germany each month.

Crucially, an earlier suggestion by the CDU/CSU was hereby amended to include a more generous hardship provision in the law which can be invoked in extraordinary circumstances, such as the need to unite unaccompanied minors with their parents. The SPD had insisted on the availability such an institutionalized avenue for judicial recourse as a condition for the party's consent to join another "grand coalition" under German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).

Negotiators told press that the exact details of the immigration policy agreement would be articulated in the following month.

The development dominates the headlines of German media publications on Monday, many of which expressed optimism that the final obstacle to the formation of a new government had been cleared.

Having quarrelled over refugee policy repeatedly in protracted coalition negotiations, the CDU, CSU and SPD were under increasing pressure to find a solution before the current temporary regulations on family-reunification expired in March.

The parties involved now hope to swiftly pass legislation extending that deadline to July in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag).

Addressing the public after the breakthrough, SPD leader Martin Schulz said he was satisfied with the compromise.

"The SPD has achieved its objectives with a good agreement on family-reunification", a statement by the party leader read.

Following a recent, albeit only narrow, vote in favor of finalizing ongoing coalition negotiations with the CDU and CSU at a specially-convened party conference in Bonn, heavy infighting within the SPD had raised serious questions over Schulz' political future. Some senior SPD figures urged their party leader not to assume a post in a new government himself, a suggestion which was firmly rejected by Schulz.

Unlike the CDU and CSU, Schulz has promised the more than 400,000 strong membership of the SPD final say on whether the party should ultimately join what would be Merkel's fourth governing cabinet following the drafting of a coalition agreement. The "grand coalition" parties aim to conclude their final stage negotiations by February 8. Enditem