German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reached a deal on migration with her Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, defusing a bitter row that has threatened her government.
"We have reached an agreement after very intense negotiations," the CSU party boss said after hours of crisis talks, adding that he intended to stay on in his cabinet post after earlier threatening to quit.
Leaders from both Seehofer's Christian Social Union (CSU) and Merkel's Christian Democrats were in talks on Monday evening, attempting to settle an increasingly personal row that threatened to bring down her three-month-old government.
At a joint meeting of the CDU and CSU parliamentary groups, a chorus of politicians urged Merkel and Seehofer to make up after Seehofer offered to quit his cabinet post and the chairmanship of the CSU at a party meeting on Sunday.
The CSU had threatened to impose new controls at the German border this week if they deemed that agreements Merkel brought back from a European Union summit were insufficient to ease the migrant burden.
Merkel is deadset against unilateral action by the authorities in Bavaria, the main entry point for migrants into Germany, saying it goes against European law.
Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) rely on the CSU to maintain power through a coalition, also including the centre-left Social Democrats, formed just three months ago.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer at the Bundestag, in Berlin. Source: AAP
The two centre-right parties have been in an alliance for 70 years under which the CDU left the CSU to fly the conservative flag in Bavaria.
However, the CSU now faces a strong challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in October when the southern state votes in regional elections.
Senior CDU lawmaker Volker Kauder said he expected a solution to be reached. "We will stay together," he said to several minutes of applause, according to participants.
CSU hardliner Alexander Dobrindt said the problems were 'solvable' and reminded lawmakers of the value of their alliance.
Addressing the meeting, Merkel acknowledged that the desire to settle the dispute was great and vowed to do everything possible to get an agreement, people at the gathering said.
If the row is not resolved, the CDU-CSU alliance may break up, robbing Merkel of her parliamentary majority. This could see her trying to lead a minority government.
