German coalition agrees on sweeping reform package
Key takeaways
- After its first year in office, Germany's coalition government is seeking to revive a sluggish economy and push through key changes with its broad package of reforms.
- The announcement came at a press conference on Thursday, with Merz alongside SPD leaders Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil, as well as the leader of Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union, Markus Söder.
- Measures include €10 billion ($11.4 billion) in income tax relief, the end of phone-based sick notes, and the implementation of pension commission proposals by the end of 2026.
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After its first year in office, Germany's coalition government is seeking to revive a sluggish economy and push through key changes with its broad package of reforms.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GSj NAfter a long night of talks, the coalition leaders returned to the Chancellery to present their proposed reforms Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) had approved a "catalog of significant reforms" to modernize the economy and restore competitiveness.
The announcement came at a press conference on Thursday, with Merz alongside SPD leaders Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil, as well as the leader of Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union, Markus Söder. The four coalition leaders had met in Berlin the previous day to hammer out the final details of the reform package.