BERLIN — The Latest on talks to form a government in Germany (all times local):
1:40 p.m.
The French government is welcoming the “good news” from Germany, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Social Democratic leader Martin Schulz announced a preliminary agreement on a new coalition government.
Following a Cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace, French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said this agreement, if definitively endorsed by the Social Democrats at a party congress on Jan.21, is “good for Germany, good for France and good for Europe.”
He praised an “important element for Europe’s stability and future”, especially in upcoming EU discussions regarding migration, economy and financial issues.
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1:10 p.m.
The European Commission president has warmly welcomed the coalition agreement in Germany and indicated that after months of delay it would offer the bloc the spur to move faster in building cooperation.Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Sofia, Bulgaria, that the European part of the deal was “a significant, positive, constructive future-looking contribution to the European policy.”
“I am quite satisfied,” he said.
If the finishing touches come together on the grand coalition of Christian Democrats and Socialists, it will finally allow Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to cooperate without the immediate impediment of domestic politics.
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1:00 p.m.
The preliminary agreement on a new coalition government in Germany sent markets and the euro higher, but one analyst says it could mean the next government avoids longer-term reforms to preserve the country’s strong economic performance.
Holger Schmieding at Berenberg says that success under Chancellor Angela Merkel has bred “complacency” and that the deal “continues the trend away from pro-growth reforms that has been clearly visible in Merkel’s previous term already.”Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Sofia, Bulgaria, that the European part of the deal was “a significant, positive, constructive future-looking contribution to the European policy.”
“I am quite satisfied,” he said.
If the finishing touches come together on the grand coalition of Christian Democrats and Socialists, it will finally allow Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to cooperate without the immediate impediment of domestic politics.
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1:00 p.m.
The preliminary agreement on a new coalition government in Germany sent markets and the euro higher, but one analyst says it could mean the next government avoids longer-term reforms to preserve the country’s strong economic performance.
Holger Schmieding at Berenberg says that success under Chancellor Angela Merkel has bred “complacency” and that the deal “continues the trend away from pro-growth reforms that has been clearly visible in Merkel’s previous term already.Schmieding pointed to added social benefits that Merkel had agreed to in order to get the center-left Social Democrats to potentially renew their current coalition.
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12:50 p.m.
The potential deal on a new government in Germany raises the chance for limited cooperation with French President Emmanuel Macron on steps to fix flaws in the euro currency union and to make it more robust against crises.
The joint document that emerged from preliminary coalition talks includes a call to “sustainably strengthen and reform the eurozone in close partnership with France.”
It also mentions investment spending in the next multi-year EU budget that “could be the point of departure for a future investment budget for the eurozone.” The euro’s lack of a central fiscal pot to even out recessions has been discussed as one its weaknesses. But Germany has so far resisted even limited proposals for fear of creating permanent transfers from its taxpayers to more troubled countries.
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