High-level talks continued in Berlin between the leaders of the center-left German Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the winners of the last elections - the center-right Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), DPA reported, BTA reports.
Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) held an hour and a half of talks with Friedrich Merz, the chairman of the CDU and the main contender for his post. The meeting was also attended by senior CSU politician Alexander Dobrindt, as well as SPD co-chairs Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken.
According to government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, the discussions were aimed at coordinating positions ahead of an emergency EU summit in Brussels on security in Europe.
Last night, the CDU, CSU and SPD reached an important preliminary agreement on the budget, which provides for investments of 500 billion euros in infrastructure. The agreement also allows a significant part of the increased defense spending to be excluded from Germany's strict balanced budget rules.