Germany, which has been a prime destination for asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa, has received about 100,000 “irregular migrants” since the start of 2018, which is fewer than expected.

The figure was revealed on Tuesday by German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer who also said he did not expect the number of migrant arrivals to see major hikes by the end of September.

Earlier estimates projected that up to 220,000 irregular migrants and refugees could arrive in Germany by the end of 2018.

Seehofer, who is the leader of CSU, the Bavarian sister party of the ruling rightist CDU, has been taking tough stance to reduce the influx of migrants in Germany, to the point of nearly bringing down the Cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel back in July 2018.

On his insistence, Germany has even started to strike bilateral agreements with “border” EU countries for their return, with deals with Spain and Greece already in place, and one with Italy under negotiation.

Seehofer revealed the smaller migrant numbers during a parliamentary session meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported, as cited by DW.

In 2017, Germany received more than 186,000 applications from asylum seekers, which was a reduction compared with the 280,000 migrants who arrived in 2016, and the over 1 million in 2015, at the height of the migrant crisis so far.

Following Germany’s inconclusive general elections in September 2017, the two sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, agreed to limit the number of irregular migrants coming to the country.

In an agreement before the start of coalition talks for what became Merkel’s fourth Cabinet, they mentioned an annual threshold of between 180,000 and 220,000.

(Banner image: Video grab from FT)