Incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reached an agreement with the SPD after weeks of negotiations amid global challenges and changes in immigration policy

<p>The coalition agreement, the result of negotiations between incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz and the SPD, comes after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second in the election. Merz, critical of the US, plans to increase defense spending and adopt a tougher policy on migration, distancing himself from the liberal approach of his conservative predecessor Angela Merkel. The deal requires ratification by SPD members, and its success would mark a return to power for the conservatives after Olaf Scholz's term in office.