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.

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.

The chancellor-in-waiting's conservatives have reached a coalition agreement with Germany's Social Democrats, five months after the last government collapsed.