The Latest Breaking News from Friedrich Merz

Negotiators from German election winner Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats have started exploratory talks on a possible coalition government

THE INDEPENDENT DEBATE: Some argue Europe should strengthen its own military and reduce reliance on the US, while others believe a full break from Trump and Nato is necessary due to shifting security priorities

Support for Ukraine means that closer ties to Europe are now a patriotic priority, opening up avenues that Brexit had once blocked, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

Image posted on social media rekindles idea that prospective new chancellor has a Frauenproblem

European Commission says it will react ‘firmly and immediately’ against unjustified trade barriers.

Can Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting fend off the far right? Plus: Bong Joon-ho interviewed

A mournful requiem for the great post-war alliance

The lifelong Atlanticist was frank after his election victory: Nato is on the brink, and Germany must reassess its core beliefs on defence, says Jörg Lau, international correspondent for Die Zeit

Donald Trump has always been an avowed transactionalist rather than a transatlanticist. The author of The Art of the Deal made it clear during his first term as US president that he thought Nato was a bad deal for the US. He publicly berated European allies, notably Germany, for not…