Germany's interior minister Thomas de Maizière has criticised Chancellor Angela Merkel for allowing the refugee crisis get "out of control" by setting aside the EU's "Dublin" rules to allow all Syrians file for asylum in Germany.
Last month's unilateral decision by Berlin allowed German authorities accept asylum applications from anyone fleeing the civil war in Syria, even if Germany was not the first EU country they entered.
The Berlin decision was criticised widely around Europe, particularly in central European countries, where officials say it catalysed the mass movement of people with which they are still struggling.
Until now, senior Berlin officials had brushed off this criticism and denied there was a link between the change of policy and the rise in those seeking asylum in the EU.
On Tuesday a senior Berlin official said: “We are not of the opinion that we exacerbated the problem, most of these people were already on the road.”
But Mr De Maizière has rubbished this version, admitting on German television that Berlin did not anticipate the “stampede” its decision would cause.
"The situation got out of control with the decision to get the people out of Hungary to Germany," he said. "That was such a large number that it no longer took place in an orderly fashion."
German officials now admit Berlin’s decision on Syrian asylum seekers led to widespread misunderstandings and unintended consequences.
On August 25th, Germany’s federal immigration authority said it had been instructed by Berlin to change its practices for Syrian nationals, for whom the Dublin criteria were “for the moment . . . not being followed in practice”.
On September 1st, the federal interior ministry denied that Berlin had set aside the Dublin rules. However for reasons of practicality the ministry said it had given the immigration authorities “new guidelines to deal with the situation” with Syrians. These new guidelines were “not a formal, binding rule”.
Germany’s EU colleagues have complained that the mixed signals from Berlin, compounded by Germany suspending Schengen to re-introduce border checks, had not helped an already challenging situation.
Mr De Maizière was reportedly opposed to the looser asylum rules for Syrians. His direct criticism of the German leader, as significant as it is unusual, is a reflection of the pressure building in Berlin over the refugee crisis.
On Thursday evening, Dr Merkel promised extra funding for Germany’s 16 state premiers, who have accused Berlin of leaving them alone with the cost and logistics of the refugee crisis.
Berlin has added €1 billion to its refugee contribution for 2016, bringing its total spend to €4 billion, promising federal states payments of €670 per asylum seeker per month.
