Impatient Europe hails German coalition breakthrough

Merkel's promise to give Europe a "fresh start" was seen as a positive signal to French President Emmanuel Macron's ambitious proposals for rebooting the bloc after Brexit.

But as the EU awaited the return of its economic and political heavyweight to the political fray, questions remained about whether a new Merkel-led coalition would be strong enough to push through the reforms.

Lueder Gerken of the Centre for European Policy in Freiburg, Germany, said Paris in particular would be pleased. "The fact that the coalition accord put Europe at the start of the blueprint is an important signal to European partners and particularly to French president Macron," Gerken said in a commentary. ...read on