Hours of negotiations in the Chancellery: The leaders of the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP continued to discuss in the Chancellery on Monday morning. The talks on a number of conflict topics continued, according to information from the German press Agency. They had started on Sunday evening. A long meeting into the night had already been expected in advance.

At the meeting, the coalition partners want to find solutions to a long list of contentious issues. These include, for example, a faster expansion of motorways, the contested plans to replace oil and gas heating systems and the financing of basic child protection.

The FDP budget politician Otto Fricke said on Monday morning on Deutschlandfunk that for him the long negotiations were more a sign that efforts were being made to find solutions through compromises.

Press conference cancelled

Against the background of the ongoing talks of the coalition, the FDP canceled its presidium meeting and the subsequent press conference this Monday – they were originally planned for 10.00 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. respectively.

The First Parliamentary Secretary of the Greens, Irene Mihalic, said in the ARD "morning magazine": "We have a lot of tasks ahead of us, which we have to cope with acutely, especially in the area of the climate crisis." Although much has already been achieved in the expansion of renewable energies, it is now necessary to look at other areas. She mentioned heating in the building sector and transport.

Mihalic addressed the proposal for a gradual replacement of heating systems by Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD). And if the price is a night session, then please. But the main thing is that we really work hard to find solutions." She defended the plans, which provide for the installation of new heating systems from 2024, each of which is operated by at least 65 percent renewable energies. This is necessary to ensure predictability.

In recent weeks, the tone in the coalition had become much rougher. Vice Chancellor Habeck had even complained of a breach of trust because a bill to replace oil and gas heating systems from his house was leaked to the media. CDU chief Friedrich Merz called the planned for 2024 ban on new oil and gas heating in the ARD program "Report from Berlin" on Sunday a mistake. He accused the coalition of relying too heavily on bans and paternalism when it comes to climate protection.

FDP politicians repeatedly called for discipline in spending money before the coalition committee – especially with a view to the now outstanding federal budget for 2024.