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.

The German parliament narrowly rejected on Friday an opposition-sponsored bill calling for tougher rules on migration that risked becoming the first draft legislation to pass thanks to a far-right party.

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.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has issued rare public criticism of her successor as the country’s center-right leader, the front-runner in Germany’s election next month, for putting to parliament proposals for tough new migration rules that only passed with the help of a far-right party.

BERLIN — 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.

The bill fell short of 12 votes on Friday. Twelve MPs from Merz’s parliamentary group were absent. The setback came after Merz passed a majority with AfD for a non-binding motion on migration earlier this week,

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.