The German parliament has narrowly rejected a law to tighten up asylum measures. The controversy over the law, and how it could have been passed with support from the far right AfD, have rocked German politics.

Merz, leader of the Christian Democrats, had sought to restrict immigration rules with the support of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The bill fell short of 12 votes on Friday. Twelve MPs from Merz’s parliamentary group were absent.

An immigration bill from Germany's conservative election frontrunner Friedrich Merz and backed controversially by the far-right AfD has failed to make it through German parliament.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s parliament is expected to vote Friday on an opposition bill calling for tougher rules on migration that could become the first legislation to pass thanks to a far-right party — adding to a controversy about the attitude of the front-runner in Germany’s upcoming election toward the far right.

Intensive high-level talks were under way in the German capital on Friday, hours ahead of a highly controversial planned vote on a package of migration reforms pushed by the centre-right opposition CDU/CSU bloc.

We’ll be covering today’s vote on a divisive anti-immigration bill in Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Conservative leader Friedrich Merz is taking a hard line and attempting to push through legislation with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

The German parliament rejected an opposition draft law on tightening immigration policy on Friday, two days after the opposition conservatives were accused of breaching an agreement against cooperating with the far right for the first time.

German political leaders held intensive closed-door talks in Berlin on Friday, hours ahead of a highly controversial planned vote on a package of migration reforms pushed by the centre-right opposition CDU/CSU bloc.

Germany’s conservative bloc requested a surprise recess in the lower house of parliament on Friday in a sign of the tension over plans to pass a hard-line immigration bill with backing of the far right.

German lawmakers face another hugely contentious vote on Friday, days after a motion demanding reforms to migration laws passed in parliament with backing from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD),