Germany woke this morning to news that finally, after 24 hours of grueling discussion, the CDU, CSU and SPD were able to agree on some of the big issues on the table.
Angela Merkel (CDU), Herst Seehofer (CSU) and Martin Schulz (SPD) were able to agree on the following:
- Health Insurance: A return to equal pay contributions for employers and employees
- Top Tax Rate: No increase has been cited in the exploratory paper, although the SPD has been pushing for this
- Family reunification for refugees: Reunification for refugees with limited protection status should be possible in the future “only for humanitarian reasons” and should be capped at a maximum of 1000 cases a month.
Many hours were spent hammering out the numbers for the financing of costly tax, social and health policy projects.
It looks as if the pre-negotiation will now lead to a formal sit-down between the parties once the SPD give the go-ahead on January 21st at a special party conference in Bonn.
Sources and Further Reading:
Durchbruch bei Sondierung für große Koalition, Frankfuter Allgemeine
German parties reach breakthrough on potential new grand coalition
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