Chancellor Merkel defended her decision to open German borders in 2015, while also urging EU countries to show solidarity on refugees.
In a separate TV appearance, the chancellor dodged a question about her main rival.
In an interview published on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood by her resolution two years ago to provide refuge to those fleeing from warfare in Syria and other countries.
"I would take all the important decisions of 2015 the same way again," she told Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper, saying they had been necessary to "avert a humanitarian catastrophe."
However, she admitted that EU law at the time had been inadequate for dealing with the enormous refugee influx that ensued.
She criticized the so-called "Dublin Regulation" on refugees, which requires those seeking asylum to register in the first EU state they enter.(WWW.DW.Com)