BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to face questions at her annual summer news conference over the government's handling of the thorny issue of migration and Berlin's fraught relationship with the United States under President Donald Trump.

Friday's hour-long question-and-answer session with reporters will mark the end of a difficult year for Merkel, before she goes on her summer vacation.

Merkel's Union bloc saw its share of the vote drop markedly in last year's election compared to 2013, partly due to the rise of the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party.

It took Merkel six months of haggling with other parties to form her fourth government. Since then, souring relations with her conservative allies in Bavaria have raised questions about the resilience of her governing coalition.