DHAKA: Germany has unveiled plans to speed up the asylum process, after the governing coalition resolved a rift on the issue.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said they would create up to five special centres for asylum-seekers deemed to have little chance of staying, reports the BBC.

Merkel's Christian Democrats and junior coalition partners the Social Democrats have quarreled for weeks over the issue.

Germany says it expects to receive at least 800,000 asylum seekers this year.

Earlier, the European Commission said that three million migrants were likely to arrive in Europe by the end of 2017.

The huge influx of asylum seekers has caused political turmoil across the EU with member states disagreeing about how to deal with the crisis.

"We took a good and important step forward," said Merkel, whose open-door refugee policy has come in for strong criticism in Germany.

BDST: 1110 HRS, NOV 06, 2015
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