The German government has approved legislation that would allow asylum-seekers to start working sooner and a plan to stiffen punishment for people who smuggle migrants.
The package backed by the Cabinet on Wednesday, which still requires parliamentary approval, is the latest in a series of steps taken recently by the government as it tries to defuse migration as a major political problem. The issue was one of several that led to a poor showing in state elections last month for Chancellor OIaf Scholz's quarrelsome three-party coalition and gains for a far-right party.
