BERLIN, May 25 (UPI) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced Tuesday that his Social Democrats have reached an immigration-law compromise with opposition parties.
Speaking at a news conference in the Berlin Chancellery, Schroeder said talks with Christian Socialist head Edmund Stoiber and Christian Democratic head Angela Merkel yielded a "modern immigration law" upon which all sides could agree, the online version of German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reports.
Schroeder said the greatest point of contention among the three parties was security, a particular priority for the Christian Socialists.
The chancellor said compromise policies include freedom to reject "spiritual arsonists" such as hateful extremist clerics, to require immigrants to reveal their criminal histories in foreign countries and to require all immigrants to fill out a survey by the German federal police.
He added a new immigration law will have to be flexible, providing highly qualified immigrants a fast track to immigration, for example.
Opposition party spokesmen expressed satisfaction with the compromise.
