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Berlin (dpa) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that she wants to examine plans for a sweeping reform of Germanys immigration laws proposed by one of her coalition partners while rejecting talk of a split in her government on the issue.

"I have to first form an opinion," she said about the Social Democratic Partys (SPDs) call to introduce a points system for those seeking to immigrate to Europes biggest economy. "Now lets see what we can do in relation to immigration."

The immigration reform plan "is not part of our coalition agreement, so this means there is no dispute," the chancellor said.

But she acknowledged the problems caused by the increasing number of refugees arriving in Germany, especially for regional governments, saying the issue was high on Berlins agenda.

Thomas Oppermann, who leads the SPD in the lower house of parliament, prepared a paper on a new immigration law similar to Canadas points-based system to attract hundreds of thousands of skilled workers to Germany.

Oppermann said Germany needs 300,000 to 400,000 skilled immigrants each year.

"This points system is not necessary to attract workers to Germany," said Michael Grosse-Broemer, the politician in Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU) responsible for relations between the coalition partners.

"We dont need a new law," Grosse-Broemer said. "We have a good immigration law. ... We could, however, reform the existing one."

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, also of the CDU, said Tuesday that there was no need for a new law.

Immigration has re-emerged as an issue in Germany after a recent push for measures to control a migrant influx that has been spearheaded by two populist, right-wing groups: the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the anti-Islamist movement Pegida.

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1ST LEAD Merkel to examine immigration reform, denies coalition row By dpa correspondents