Merkel's agreement on immigration depends on the approval of the Social Democrat Party and the EU

An agreement on the immigration policy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to save the government sparked on Tuesday the skepticism of its social-democratic coalition partners, who said more work and negotiations are needed to to advance a controversial proposal.

Merkel needs the support of her coalition partner and EU states for her plan to limit the arrival of asylum seekers in the country. The most prosperous European economy is a success.

But the leaders of the three parties in Merkel's ruling coalition failed to agree Tuesday at a two-and-a-half hour meeting at the German Chancellery.

"We have made progress, but we have not yet found a common ground," said the leader of the Social Democrat Party (SPD), Andrea Nahles, adding that the three parties had agreed to meet again on Thursday

Olaf Scholz, vice-chancellor and finance minister of the SPD, said it needed more time to translate the Conservatives' immigration proposal into a set of "rules" reasonable "

Merkel's Christian Democrat Union (CDU) and its long-time Christian Social Union (CSU) ally in Bavaria agreed on Monday to create special transit centers at the Austrian border where immigrants already registered in D & # … 39, other EU countries will be kept and returned to the country where they were initially registered.

The plan seemed to resolve a dispute between the two conservative parties that had threatened Merkel's rule of three months. But an opinion poll showed that most Germans are dissatisfied with the deal.

The Social Democratic Party, which rejected a similar plan three years ago, refused to give immediate consent and EU states must also agree to reinstate immigrants.

Earlier on Tuesday, Nahles said the plan is useless without bilateral agreements with countries like Italy and Austria, from which most immigrants who arrive in Germany leave.

"We have a lot of open questions," said Nahles, whose lawmakers discussed the case Tuesday. Ensuring the consent of other EU countries is crucial, he said.

"That's why I consider the agreement for now as a blank check," he added.