Germany toughens asylum laws amid bitter migration debate

Chancellor Scholz has an eye on upcoming European elections, scheduled for June next year, says analyst Camino Mortera-Martinez of the Centre for European Reform in Brussels.

"I think the timing of all this makes a lot of sense from a political point of view, because we've seen that there has been a string of regional elections in Germany and in other parts of Europe, and the mainstream or center-right parties are getting the message that they need to be — or look — tougher on migration, in order to get the votes that are now going to more radical alternatives, like Alternative for Germany."

Far-right parties are stoking fears of an influx of refugees from the Middle East following the Israel-Hamas conflict, Mortera-Matinez added.

"I think it is very dangerous to get into this idea that there is going to be a massive wave of refugees," she said. "This is the kind of discourse that benefits populists and the far-right."