German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he is in favour of limiting refugee admissions to the country, but warned there was no easy solution to the migration dilemma that has frustrated Europe for years.
"We need a limit on the number of arrivals, there is no question about that," he said on public broadcaster ARD's Tagesthemen programme on Monday evening.
He said a comprehensive approach was needed, including Germany imposing stricter border controls and, on the EU level, quicker procedures to deport asylum-seekers whose applications have been rejected or have almost no chance of being approved.
"If we can manage this regulation, and thank God we are now on the way, then the number of arrivals in Germany will decrease," Steinmeier said. "This is a laborious business."
Migration has again become a hot topic in German politics as state elections loom in Hesse and Bavaria and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) sees a surge in support.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a weekend interview with the RND media group that "the number of refugees seeking to come to Germany is too high at the moment."
Opposition leader Friedrich Merz, from the centre-right Christian Democrats, attracted attention with his recent remarks about rejected asylum seekers who "sit at the dentist's and have their teeth redone."
"I very much hope that once that is behind us, a climate will again emerge in which the democratic parties can come to an understanding among themselves," Steinmeier, whose role as president is largely ceremonial, told ARD.
