Germany’s Chancellor Merkel said it is expected that most refugees from Syria and Iraq will return to their home countries.
As the German population becomes more restive and fearful of the consequences of Merkel’s open-door policy, it appears she has taken steps to placate her increasingly vocal critics.
Merkel said it was important to stress that most refugees had only been allowed to stay for a limited period.
“We need ... to say to people that this is a temporary residential status and we expect that, once there is peace in Syria again, once IS has been defeated in Iraq, that you go back to your home country with the knowledge that you have gained," she told a regional meeting of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
She cited the refugees from former Yugoslavia as an example, saying that 70% of those who arrived in Germany in the 1990s returned home once it was safe.
Support for her conservative bloc has lessened as concerns mount about how Germany will integrate the 1.1 million migrants who arrived last year, while crime and security are also in the spotlight after a wave of assaults on women in Cologne at New Year by men perceived to be newly-arrived refugees.
Refugee numbers continue to rise this year despite the cold weather.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told German weekly Der Spiegel Saturday that on average, 2,000 migrants had entered Germany per day in January, which "projected over a year would still be very many -- too many".
A survey on Sunday indicated the government’s popularity has slumped while a right-wing populist party polled a record high.
Alternative for Germany (AfD), a eurosceptic cause, has capitalised on the refugee situation and saw its support rise to 12%. Its leader was quoted on Sunday saying that migrants entering illegally should, if necessary, be shot.
No police officer wanted to shoot at a migrant, its leader Frauke Petry said, adding "I don't want that either but, ultimately, deterrence includes the use of armed force".
Merkel faces national elections in 2017 but before then regional elections in March in three states will be a key test.
