Merkel says events of summer 2015 must never be repeated.

Record ID: 75962

  • Title: Merkel says events of summer 2015 must never be repeated.
  • Date: 6th December 2016
  • Summary: ESSEN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) MERKEL TALKING PEOPLE CLAPPING
  • Embargoed: 21st December 2016 13:13
  • Keywords: Merkel CDU refugees Trump TTIP
  • Location: ESSEN, GERMANY
  • City: ESSEN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Reuters ID: LVA0055BQX35Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Angela Merkel laid out her case for a fourth term as German chancellor on Tuesday (December 6), seeking to energise her conservatives with the promise of a tougher stance on immigration after a record influx of refugees.
    Speaking to a party congress of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Essen, the western rust belt city where she won the party leadership 16 years ago, Merkel sought to present herself as a guarantor of stability in an uncertain world.
    The meeting was taking place a month after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States and at a time when Europe is reeling from a surge in populism and Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
    Merkel's decision to allow the migrant influx last year hit her popularity, triggered a damaging fight with her Bavarian allies and led to a surge in support for the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party is expected to win its first seats in the federal parliament next year.
    In a nod to these troubles, Merkel began her speech with a promise not to allow a repetition of last year's migrant influx, when nearly 900,000 migrants poured into Germany.
    Admitting that many people felt the world was "going off the rails", Merkel told the conference: "We are faced with a world, especially after the U.S. election, that needs to re-order itself, with regard to NATO and the relationship with Russia."
    Britons voted for Brexit in June, while Trump has questioned the relevance of the post-war transatlantic alliance and sent conciliatory signals to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The brutal war in Syria has led hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee to Europe.
    In her speech, Merkel called the bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo a "disgrace" and expressed her outrage that more people in Germany were demonstrating regularly against a trade deal with the U.S. than against violence in Syria.
    Merkel also warned against letting the euro zone slide into crisis again and said the financial institutions had to head off that risk by adhering to the fiscal rules enshrined in the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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