Merkel is shutting the door on Germany's 'open-door' refugee policy

Chancellor Angela Merkel is shutting the door on her open door policy for refugees coming to Germany - the very policy that got her nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and her accolade as Time's Person of the Year.

She said on Sunday she wanted to "drastically decrease" the number of refugees coming to Germany, signaling a compromise to critics of her open door policy from within her own conservative party on the eve of a party congress.

Merkel has resisted pressure from allies within her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to put a cap on the number of refugees entering Germany, which is expected to top 1 million this year.

"At the same time we took on board the concerns of the people, who are worried about the future, and this means we want to reduce, we want to drastically decrease the number of people coming to us," Merkel told broadcaster ARD.

Merkel, whose popularity has fallen over her handling of the refugee crisis, said the word "limit" did not feature in the CDU's main resolution which will be debated at the two-day party congress starting on Monday in the southern city of Karlsruhe.

The chancellor added there was broad support in the CDU for her strategy to reduce the numbers.

This included working with Turkey to fight traffickers, improving the situation at Syrian refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, and strengthening control of the European Union's outer borders.

Merkel's conservative critics want her to get the number of arrivals down before three state elections in March and say her hopes of running for a fourth term in 2017 would be in danger.

Her strategy also includes finding a solution to the migration crisis on the EU level, where she is meeting resistance from member states opposed to a quota system to distribute refugees.

Her critics say her decision in late August to allow Syrian asylum seekers to remain in Germany regardless of which EU country they had first entered had accelerated the influx of migrants.

Germany's refugee intake

The number of refugees has hit a 20 year high due to the growing list of conflicts. Deutsche Bank last month, citing United Nations data, said more than 60 million people worldwide have fled their homes.

Germany has registered some 760,000 people entering the country from January to October, and government officials expect the number of asylum seekers to rise further until year-end.

Deutsche Bank highlighted in a report to clients how each country takes in a vastly different proportion of refugees and Germany accounts for the largest share. The note says "the influx of refugees has raised net immigration to Germany to the record level of more than one million."

"Among the OECD countries, this trend could put Germany ahead of the United States, traditionally the No. 1 destination country for migrants. For the time being, Germany is likely to remain a magnet for refugees."

Merkel initially refused to announce a national cap, saying there cannot be a limit to the constitutionally enshrined right to asylum. But she has said Europe should think about agreeing on joint quotas for refugees.