Angela Merkel: New German coalition deal will be good for EU

Germany has big plans for the European Union, the chancellor told parliament on the eve of a major EU meeting, but first Germany needs a new government. Still, the other parties' responses showed how divided Germany is.

Merkel was addressing the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, a day before an informal meeting of the 27 European Union national leaders in Brussels. But the backdrop was the coalition agreement drawn up between her conservatives and the Social Democrats, which all parties involved need to approve before the Chancellor can form a new government.

Strengthening the EU is a central element of that deal between Germany's two largest parties, traditionally rivals, and Merkel said the agreement would offer "essential impulses" in reforming the bloc. She stressed that the coalition agreement was the first such deal to focus explicitly on policy toward the EU.


Source : dw