Party leaders German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Horst Seehofer (R) of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Sigmar Gabriel of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) arrive for a news conference after signing a preliminary agreement, which has still to be approved by the members of the SPD, in the Bundespressekonferenz in Berlin, November 27, 2013. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday that rolls back decade-old reforms of the German welfare state but preserves Berlin's strict approach towards struggling European partners.
The agreement, spelled out in minute detail in a 185-page policy document entitled "Shaping Germany's Future", was struck two months after Merkel emerged victorious from an election but fell just short of a parliamentary majority.
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