The German parliament has just closed the vote on a draft law suggesting tightening of the country’s immigration rules, with changes to family reunification rules and stronger powers to the federal police.
The motion, put forward by the main opposition party CDU/CSU, is highly controversial as it could be passed with the votes of the Alternative für Deutschland, breaking the historical firewall against any sort of political cooperation with far-right parties.
The sitting broke for a few hours earlier today as the main parties sought to strike a last-minute agreement that would allow them to avoid the vote, but the crisis talks ultimately failed – and this is why we are here.