Hundreds of people gathered outside the headquarters of Germany's opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) in Berlin on Wednesday evening to protest against the conservative bloc pushing through a motion to tighten migration policy with the help of votes from the far right.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s parliament is expected to vote Friday on an opposition bill calling for tougher rules on migration that could become the first legislation to pass thanks to a far-right party — adding to a controversy about the attitude of the front-runner in Germany’s upcoming election toward the far right.

The bill fell short of 12 votes on Friday. Twelve MPs from Merz’s parliamentary group were absent. The setback came after Merz passed a majority with AfD for a non-binding motion on migration earlier this week,