In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), along with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), have announced the conclusion of a coalition agreement, Tagesschau reports.

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting and leader of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) Friedrich Merz, Christian Social Union (CSU) leader and Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder, co-leaders of the Social Democratic party (SPD) Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil walk to attend a press conference after reaching an agreement on their coalition government in Berlin,

By Andreas Rinke and Matthias Williams BERLIN (Reuters) -German conservatives under Friedrich Merz clinched a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday, aiming to revive growth in Europe's largest economy just as a global trade war threatens recession.