Germany’s opposition leader has vowed to bar people from entering the country without proper papers and to step up deportations if he is elected as chancellor next month.

Friedrich Merz, currently leading in polls to become German chancellor, said Thursday if elected he will impose strict border controls.

In Germany, the fatal knife attack by a 28-year-old Afghan in Aschaffenburg has once again triggered a debate on asylum. CDU leader Friedrich Merz

Merz, whose centre-right bloc currently tops the polls, is toughening his stance on migration ahead of federal elections next month. View on euronews

Latest YouGov poll shows Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc commanding 28% of voter support, leading Chancellor Scholz's Social Democrats by 9 percentage points - Anadolu Ajansı

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that he met with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, just weeks before a federal election in Germany.

Mr Merz argued the need “to negotiate with the American side from a position of strength”. Read more at straitstimes.com.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz sees potential in collaborating with U.S. President Trump, advocating for a strong European negotiating stance. His call for unified military purchases faces challenges from France's defense industry.

Ukraine must win the war against Russia, regain lost territory and be free to join military alliances, Friedrich Merz, favourite to become Germany's next chancellor, said Thursday.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, tipped to become chancellor in next month's election, said on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump could prove an interesting partner for Europe provided the region had a strong common negotiating position.

The incumbent government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat (SPD), has styled itself as a champion of the rules-based international order and, in the case of Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, of an ethical, feminist foreign policy.