Preliminary coalition talks in Germany have ended. Whatʼs next?

The German parties Christian Democratic Union and Social Democratic Party of Germany have agreed on a framework document for further coalition negotiations.

Der Spiegel writes about this.

Two weeks after the snap federal election, the parties are ready to begin concrete talks on forming a government. The adopted document will serve as the basis for more detailed negotiations on all policy areas, which are likely to begin next week.

Among other things, the parties were able to agree on the possibility of refusing potential migrants — asylum seekers — directly at the German border. This was an important demand of the Christian Democratic Union, against which the SPD has repeatedly expressed doubts. The future Chancellor and the CDU leader Friedrich Merz stressed that document control at the German borders should be strengthened. In addition, they want to further limit the ability of refugees to transport their family members to Germany.

To accelerate economic development, possible future ruling coalition partners plan to take steps to attract investment and reform corporate taxation.

The issue of defense capability is declared as one of the key ones for the potential government. This part of the document contains phrases that "protecting our freedom is a necessary task" and that Germany will continue to support Ukraine.

The CDU leader Friedrich Merz and SPD co-chair Lars Klingbeil said they plan to recommend that party bodies approve the official start of coalition talks. Friedrich Merz had previously said he wanted to form a coalition by Easter, which is April 20.

• The Christian Democratic Union, led by Friedrich Merz, won the German election on February 23. They will need to form a coalition with another party to have a majority of votes and the ability to form a government.
• During the full-scale invasion, Merz visited Ukraine several times and met with Volodymyr Zelensky. He supports the provision of both humanitarian and military aid, but is not ready to talk about security guarantees or German peacekeepers. The main difference from the current government is that Merz wants to allow the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

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