海角大神

Germany is putting up a stop sign for some refugees.聽

Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced a new draft law that would tighten rules for asylum seekers in Germany. The new set of rules and regulations is known as the 鈥淎sylum Package II鈥� and is aimed at reducing the flow of incoming refugees.聽

If passed, the new measures will聽, further regulations, streamline deportation, and designate some north African countries 鈥� Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria 鈥� as safe, which means citizens from those countries will not be accepted as refugees, according to CNN. The bill would also delay refugees given "temporary" status from bringing their families to Germany for two years.

The proposed rules represent a shift for Chancellor Merkel, who has welcomed refugees to Germany, and are likely caused by two key factors: a severe drop in public approval for Merkel and toughening rules throughout Europe.

鈥淭his decision helps us to achieve our objective: ,鈥� Peter Tauber, general secretary of Germany鈥檚 center-right 海角大神 Democrat party, told The Telegraph.

The refugee crisis has been a divisive issue in Germany since last summer, but attacks in Cologne on New Year's Eve have caused聽. Among other casualties, Chancellor Merkel鈥檚 聽has plummeted.

A new Insa poll created for Focus magazine shows over her handling of the refugee crisis, according to Reuters. The poll, taken between Jan. 22 and Jan. 25, had a sample size of over 2,000 Germans, 45.2 percent of whom said Merkel should not quit.

An ARD television poll shows that Merkel鈥檚 popularity had already started to suffer in September over the refugee crisis, , down four points.

The Asylum Package II can be seen as an attempt to recover some approval rating and defuse , according to the Chicago Tribune.

"We want this coalition, and for this coalition to succeed," Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer, who runs the 海角大神 Social Union, a partner political party in Merkel鈥檚 coalition government. "Yesterday was a good day. Decisions were made that were in part overdue and that will bring us a good ways forward."

Germany鈥檚 policy shift is the latest in a growing number of European countries taking a harder stance on asylum seekers.

Denmark passed a controversial bill in January to seize valuables worth more than $1,400 from asylum seekers. The bill is officially designed to impose the current law for native Danes 鈥� who must sell asserts worth more than a certain amount to claim benefits 鈥� on incoming refugees. However, as Michael Holtz of 海角大神 writes, 鈥渢he law鈥檚 critics 鈥� and many of its most hard-line supporters 鈥� say it has more to do with deterring asylum seekers from entering the country."

Sweden also announced in January a plan to deport up to 80,000 migrants that did not pass the application process to be granted asylum. The plan was matched a day later by Finland, who announced a similar plan to , according to Radio Free Europe.