Friedrich Merz promised tougher measures to tackle illegal migration, including by turning away people at Germany's borders and expanding border controls, promising to act along with other EU members.

In Germany, coalition governments are typically formed through a two-step process: parties first engage in exploratory talks to assess potential alliances before entering formal coalition negotiations

German election winner Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) have concluded preliminary talks towards forming a coalition government, heads of the parties said on Saturday.

The Christian Democrat, whose party won the parliamentary elections, quickly began negotiating with the Social Democrats to secure a majority in parliament. The likely future chancellor insists the country cannot delay the military investments needed due to US disengagement.

Since the parliamentary arithmetic remains uncertain, Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor, may be forced Merz to seek not just one but two coalition partners

German parties negotiating the country's next government following the February 23 election took the first step on Sunday by concluding their exploratory discussions and agreeing to move forward with coalition talks.

Germany’s conservative bloc and the Social Democrats agreed to deepen talks over forming a new government, a step forward as pressure builds on Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz to implement sweeping reforms.

Election winner Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU, its Bavarian sister party CSU, and the Social Democrats (SPD) have taken a major step toward forming a coalition government, the heads of the parties said.

According to Friedrich Merz, his conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democratic Party leaders agreed on common principles on migration and the economy. View on euronews