Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has promised to "massively expand border controls" once the country's next coalition government is in place.

Germany's CDU, CSU and SPD parties have produced an exploratory paper on their plans on various topics, including migration, overcoming the first major hurdle on the way to forming a government together.

The plan is for Germany to have a new government in place by mid-April that would end around half a year of political paralysis.

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.

Chancellor-in-waiting Merz wants to form a coalition by Easter and has warned it was "five minutes to midnight" for Europe to fend for itself against a hostile Russia, with the U.S. under President Donald Trump no longer seen as a reliable ally.

The prospective partners in Germany’s next government say they will seek to loosen the nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defense spending.

The leaders of Germany's conservative bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) have agreed on a common migration policy that would allow asylum seekers to be turned back at German land borders - but only if neighbouring European countries agree.

Germany’s conservative bloc and the Social Democrats agreed to deepen talks over forming a new government, a step forward as pressure builds on Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz to implement sweeping reforms.

Christian Democratic Union party chairman Friedrich Merz, left, speaks to Social Democratic Party leaders Lars Klingbeil, center, and Saskia Esken, after a news conference in Berlin, Germany, Saturday,

BERLIN — Germany's conservative election winner Friedrich Merz came a step closer on Saturday towards forming a government which he has pledged will revive Europe's top economy and its armed forces with massive new spending.

Conservative and center-left parties launch coalition talks on Friday. hoping to avoid prolonging Germany’s post-election uncertainty.

Such a plan would mark a step-change in Germany’s traditionally conservative approach to public borrowing. Berlin in 2009 enshrined a debt brake in its constitution, which limits government borrowing and keeps the structural deficit at 0.35 per cent of GDP.