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GERMANY POLITICS BUDGET 2017

epa05643345 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) speaks in the Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, 23 November 2016. The debate on the 2017 budget continued in the German Bundestag. EPA/BERND VON JUTRCZENKA

GERMANY POLITICS

epa05630876 SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel speaks about the nomination of Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier for the office of Federal President at the Willy-Brandt-House in Berlin, Germany, 14 November 2016. According to reports German parties making up the coalition government agreed on Steinmeier for replacing Joachim Gauck as the next German President. EPA/MICHAEL KAPPELER

GERMANY POLITICS PARLIAMENT BUDGET

epa05528320 German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the German 'Bundestag' parliament in Berlin, Germany, 07 September 2016, where the parliament continued its debate on the state budget for 2017. EPA/SOPHIA KEMBOWSKI

GERMANY POLITICS PARLIAMENT BUDGET DEBATE

epa05526692 German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble speaks at the start of the budget week at the German 'Bundestag' parliament, in Berlin, Germany, 06 September 2016, where the first reading of the budget proposal for 2017 and the financial plan for until 2020 are debated. EPA/MICHAEL KAPPELER

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa05348564 Sigmar Gabriel, German Economy Minister and leader of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), delivers remarks on the decision of German President Joachim Gauck not to stand for a second term, in Berlin, Germany, 06 June 2016. He was not going to stand for a second term in office as German President, Gauck had announced in a statement earlier the same day. EPA/ KAY NIETFELD

GERMANY POLITICS MIGRATION

epa05132084 Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) chairman and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel gives a statement to the media after a meeting of the leaders of the German coalition government on its migration policy, in Berlin, 28 January 2016. Refugees would not automatically be allowed to have their family members join them in Germany for the next two years under a deal reached by German government leaders, said Gabriel. Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia will be declared 'countries of safe origin' under a new migration deal worked out by German government leaders, he added. The designation means asylum seekers from those countries can be returned home under an expedited procedure, he said EPA/GREGOR FISCHER

GERMANY POLITICS MIGRATION

epa05132083 Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) chairman and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel (C) gives a statement to the media after a meeting of the leaders of the German coalition government on its migration policy, in Berlin, 28 January 2016. Refugees would not automatically be allowed to have their family members join them in Germany for the next two years under a deal reached by German government leaders, said Gabriel. Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia will be declared 'countries of safe origin' under a new migration deal worked out by German government leaders, he added. The designation means asylum seekers from those countries can be returned home under an expedited procedure, he said EPA/GREGOR FISCHER

GERMANY POLITICS MERKEL

epa05103948 German Chancellor Angela Merkel nibbles on a piece of grilled wild boar at her constituency's new year reception in Trinwillershagen, Germany, 15 January 2016. Merkel has been representing that consituency in the Bundestag since 1990. EPA/OVE ARSCHOLL

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES CAMERON

epa05091149 British Prime Minister David Cameron (C) is watched by Gerda Hasselfeldt (2-R), chairwoman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party parliamentary group, as he delivers a statement to journalists prior to attending the closed session meeting of the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Wildbad Kreuth, Germany, 07 January 2016. Woman on right is not identified. The closed session meeting runs from 06 to 08 January 2016 at the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation building in Wildbad Kreuth. Cameron arrived in the Bavarian resort town of Wildbad Kreuth on Wednesday to attend a party conference hosted by the Christian Social Union (CSU), German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative allies in the southern state. EPA/PETER KNEFFEL

GERMANY POLITICS TRANSPORT

epa05061493 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) smiles besides train driver Stefan Baumgart (2-L) in the ICE driver's cabin during the opening of the new high-speed rail line between Erfurt and Halle/Leipzig near Leipzig, Germany, 09 December 2015. EPA/JENS MEYER / POOL

INDIA GERMANY POLITICS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, silhouetted, during the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

GERMANY POLITICS PARLIAMENT BUDGET

epa04919782 German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble speaks at the German 'Bundestag' parliament in Berlin, Germany, 08 September 2015. The German parliament is discussing a draft for the 2016 national budget in its first reading. EPA/KAY NIETFELD

GERMANY POLITICS MERKEL

epa04913024 German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at an election campaign event in Essen, Germany, 04 September 2015. Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have set out an action plan to deal with Europe's refugee crisis, in a letter to EU officials released 04 September 2015. EPA/ROLAND WEIHRAUCH

GERMANY POLITICS

epa04524339 Speaker of Berlin's Senate Rolf Wieland (R) congratulates Michael Mueller (L) after Mueller's election as Berlin's new governing mayor at the Berlin House of Representatives in Berlin, Germany, 11 December 2014. Wowereit is retiring from office as Berlin's governing mayor. EPA/BERND VON JUTRCZENKA

GERMANY POLITICS

epa04524336 Berlin's new governing mayor Michael Mueller (SPD) takes his oath of office at the Berlin House of Representatives in Berlin in Berlin, Germany, 11 December 2014. Wowereit is retiring from office as Berlin's governing mayor. EPA/WOLFGANG KUMM

GERMANY POLITICS

epa04524328 Former governing mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit (L), congratulates Michael Mueller after Mueller's election as Berlin's new governing mayor at the Berlin House of Representatives in Berlin, Germany, 11 December 2014. Wowereit is retiring from office as Berlin's governing mayor. EPA/BERND VON JUTRCZENKA

GERMANY POLITICS

epa04524327 Former governing mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit (L), congratulates Michael Mueller after Mueller's election as Berlin's new governing mayor at the Berlin House of Representatives in Berlin, Germany, 11 December 2014. Wowereit is retiring from office as Berlin's governing mayor. EPA/BERND VON JUTRCZENKA

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa04374114 Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and governor of Saxony Stanislaw Tillich (2-R) are pictured after the final election party in Dresden, Germany, 29 August 2014. On 31 August 2014 the citizens of Saxony are to elect the 6th Saxon Landtag, or Saxon Parliament. EPA/ARNO BURGI

GERMANY POLITICS REFUGEES

epa04372253 Asylum seekers sleep on mattresses in a chapel on the grounds of the Central Reception Center for Asylum Seekers in Zirndorf, Bacaria state, Germany, 28 August 2014. Due to overcrowding of the center about 100 refugees were temporarily accomodated in a festival tent in Nuremberg, Germany. EPA/DAVID EBENER

GERMANY POLITICS MERKEL

epa04321322 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) speaks to journalists at the 'Bundespressekonferenz' (lit. Federal Press Conference) in Berlin, Germany, 18 July 2014. Merkel spoke to journalists about the current domestic and international issues. EPA/KAY NIETFELD

GERMANY POLITICS ASH WEDNESDAY

epa04110426 EU Parliament President Martin Schulz, top candidate for the European elections of the German Social Democrats (SPD) drinks beer during his party's 'Political Ash Wednesday' rally in Vilshofen, Germany, 05 March 2014. The so-called 'Political Ash Wednesday' is an event where the German political parties traditionally rally their supporters and give fiery speeches. EPA/DAVID EBENER

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa04040747 AfD (Alternative for Germany) party leader Bernd Lucke waves at delegates as he presents to delegates the list of candidates during federal party congress on 25 January 2014 in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany. The euro-sceptic party met to choose candidates for the European Parliament elections due to take place 25 May. The estimated 350 delegates were met by protesters as they arrived to the congress. The party believes they have a good chance of making the 3 per cent hurdle in the elections to enter the European Parliament for the first time. The text on background reads ' Courage for Germany'. EPA/DAVID EBENER

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa04040743 AfD (Alternative for Germany) party leader Bernd Lucke presents to delegates the list of candidates during federal party congress on 25 January 2014 in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany. The euro-sceptic party met to choose candidates for the European Parliament elections due to take place 25 May. The estimated 350 delegates were met by protesters as they arrived to the congress. The party believes they have a good chance of making the 3 per cent hurdle in the elections to enter the European Parliament for the first time. EPA/DAVID EBENER

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES PIRATES

epa04008910 Two empty chairs carrying US 'whistleblowers' Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning signs during the federal party convention of the Pirate Party in Bochum, Germany, 05 January 2014. More than 530 members were to decide on the candidates and topics for the EU elections on 25 May. EPA/CAROLINE SEIDEL

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03981031 Free Democratic Party (FDP) Chairman-elect Christian Lindner talks at the FDP conference on the German elections in Berlin, Germany, 07 December 2013. EPA/KAY NIETFELD

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03980913 Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) Sigmar Gabriel speaks at the federal congress of the Young Socialists in Nuremberg, Germany, 07 December 2013. EPA/DANIEL KARMANN

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03980739 German Economy Minister and German Free Democratic Party (FDP) Chairman Philipp Roesler speaks at the FDP conference on the reconstruction of the party after losing in the German elections in Berlin, Germany, 07 December 2013. The FDP is to elect a new leader. EPA/KAY NIETFELD

GERMANY POLITICS

Tarek Al-Wazir, faction leader of the Greens in the regional parliament of Hesse state, attends a party conference in Frankfurt, central Germany, Saturday Nov. 23, 2013. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the environmentalist Greens will try to form a government together in one of Germany's most prosperous regions - a move that could expand the traditional foes' future options nationwide. A state election Sept. 22 in Hesse, which includes Frankfurt, produced no center-right or center-left majority. Merkel's Christian Democrats emerged as the strongest party. On Saturday, a Green conference in Hesse voted to accept a conservative offer of coalition talks. (AP Photo/dpa, Boris Roessler)

GERMANY POLITICS

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2013 file picture , German Hesse state governor Volker Bouffier , of the Christian Democratic Union party, right, shakes hands with the top candidate of the Green Party Tarek Al-Wazir in Wiesbaden , central Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the environmentalist Greens will try to form a government together in one of Germany's most prosperous regions - a move that could expand the traditional foes' future options nationwide. A state election Sept. 22 in Hesse, which includes Frankfurt, produced no center-right or center-left majority. Merkel's Christian Democrats emerged as the strongest party. On Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013 a Green conference in Hesse voted to accept a conservative offer of coalition talks. (AP Photo/dpa, Fredrik von Erichsen, file)

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03962099 Sigmar Gabriel, Chairman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), talks during a regional conference in a community center in Bruchsal, Germany, 23 November 2013. Gabriel discussed a possible grand coalition with other party members. Although detailed coalition accords to script government policy for four years in advance are the German custom, the delay has unsettled Germany's allies and is beginning to be seen as tiresome by voters. EPA/ULI DECK

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03962097 Sigmar Gabriel, Chairman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), talks during a regional conference in a community center in Bruchsal, Germany, 23 November 2013. Gabriel discussed a possible grand coalition with other party members. Although detailed coalition accords to script government policy for four years in advance are the German custom, the delay has unsettled Germany's allies and is beginning to be seen as tiresome by voters. EPA/ULI DECK

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03962096 Sigmar Gabriel, Chairman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), gestures during a regional conference in a community center in Bruchsal, Germany, 23 November 2013. Gabriel discussed a possible grand coalition with other party members. Although detailed coalition accords to script government policy for four years in advance are the German custom, the delay has unsettled Germany's allies and is beginning to be seen as tiresome by voters. EPA/ULI DECK

GERMANY POLITICS COALITION TALKS

epa03959684 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L), German Minister for Special Affairs Roland Pofalla (C) and DCU/CSU parliamentary group leader Volker Kauder (R) attend the start of another round coalition talks, at the Konrad Adenauer House, in Berlin, Germany, 21 November 2013. It is the seventh round of coalition negotiations between the German conservative parties CDU and CSU with the Social Democrats of the SPD party aimed at forming a coalition government. EPA/OLE SPATA

GERMANY POLITICS COALITION TALKS

epa03956989 (L-R) CSU General secretary Alexander Dobrindt, SPD General secretary Andrea Nahles and CDU General secretary Hermann Groehe speak at a joint news conference after the sixth round of coalition talks between the Christian Democratic Union CDU, their Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union CSU and the German Social Democratic Party SPD at the SPD party headquarters, the Willy-Brandt-Haus, in Berlin, Germany, 19 November 2013. Seen in background is a statue depicting the SPD's former German Chancellor Willy Brandt. EPA/MAURIZIO GAMBARINI

GERMANY POLITICS ESPIONAGE

epa03955765 A company logo is seen outside the German headquarters of the US IT company Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), in Wiesbaden, Germany, 18 November 2013. Recent media reports state that CSC with its affiliated companies is a contractor for the US intelligence services and apparently was working also for German ministries in what was called 'highly sensitive' security matters. EPA/FREDRIK VON ERICHSEN

GERMANY POLITICS RIGHT WING DEMONSTRATION

epa03933560 Supporters of the German extreme right wing National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) hold banners and flags during a demonstration in Leipzig, Germany, 02 November 2013. Hundreds of counter demonstraters protested the NPD march, which was held to drum against the planned construction of a mosque. Slogan on placards read: 'Maria instead (of) shari'ah.' EPA/SEBASTIAN WILLNOW

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03927804 Members of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) Peer Steinbrueck (L) and chairman Sigmar Gabriel sort files before an SPD meeting at the party headquarters Willy-Brandt-Haus in Berlin, Germany, 28 October 2013. EPA/WOLFGANG KUMM

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03916175 The newly elected party leader of Alliance 90/The Greens Simone Peter (C) reacts at the party's conference in the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany, 19 October 2013. Around 800 delegates gathered to discuss their weak results in the German general election in September and to elect their new party leadership. The slogan in the background reads 'Tomorrow'. EPA/BERND VON JUTRCZENKA

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03916158 The newly elected party leader of Alliance 90/The Greens Simone Peter takes a seat at the chair of the party leader at the party's conference in the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany, 19 October 2013. Around 800 delegates gathered to discuss their weak results in the German general election in September and to elect their new party leadership. EPA/BERND VON JUTRCZENKA

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES GREENS

epa03887333 Cem Oezdemir, the co-chairman of the German Alliance 90/The Greens party, speaks at the party's State Council (Laenderrat) party conference, in Berlin, Germany, 28 September 2013. Germany's two main opposition parties, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, both voiced willingness on 27 September to compete for a place in Chancellor Angela Merkel's next coalition government. Ozdemir stressed that the Greens would not enter any coalition unless its policies emphasized sustainability. EPA/SOEREN STACHE

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES GREENS

epa03887334 Simone Peter, the Saarland state's former Minister for the Environment, of the German Alliance 90/The Greens party, speaks at the party's State Council (Laenderrat) party conference, in Berlin, Germany, 28 September 2013. Simone Peter is expected to run for the co-chair post of the party's leadership after Claudia Roth announced to resign from her post effective in November 2013. EPA/SOEREN STACHE

GERMANY POLITICS CSU

epa03847756 The premier of Bavaria and party leader of the German party CSU, Horst Seehofer (C), drinks beer at the folk festival Gillamoos in Abensberg, Germany, 02 September 2013. The Gillamoos is one of the biggest and oldest folk festivals in Lower Bavaria with a traditional political exchange of words. EPA/PETER KNEFFEL

GERMANY POLITICS OPEN DAY

epa03836859 German Chancellor Angela Merkel walks along a bridge across the Spree river at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 25 August 2013. The German government celebrated an 'Open Day' for public visitors for the 15th time. EPA/TIM BRAKEMEIER

GERMANY POLITICS OPEN DAY

epa03836851 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) talks to citizens at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 25 August 2013. The German government celebrated an 'Open Day' for public visitors for the 15th time. EPA/TIM BRAKEMEIER

GERMANY POLITICS IMMIGRANTS

epa03810117 A photo made available on 01 August 2013 shows then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during a press conference in Bonn, Germany, 29 October 1982. According to a report of German news website 'Spiegel Online' released 01 August 2013, Kohl aimed to reduce the number of Turkish immigrant workers by 50 percent over a four-year period. Kohl told this to Thatcher in Bonn in 1982, Spiegel Online states referring to confidential British documents which have since been made public. EPA/EGON STEINER

GERMANY POLITICS ALPS

epa03808768 German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner (l) stands next to a music group in traditional costumes on Hefter alp during an informative journey to the mountain pastures near Grassau, Germany, 31 July 2013. Aigner informed herself on the current issues of the mountain pasture economy. EPA/PETER KNEFFEL

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03793537 German chancellor and CDU party leader Angela Merkel speaks during a CDU election campaign event in St. Peter-Ording, Germany, 19 July 2013. Merkel's visit of the holiday town at the North Sea is part of her summer tour. EPA/MARCUS BRANDT

GERMANY POLITICS SPD

epa03738800 German chancellor candidate and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) Peer Steinbrueck (R) attends a press conference together with political journalist and author Rolf Kleine (L) in Berlin, Germany, 10 June 2013. Kleine, former journalist for newspaper 'Bild' was named the new spokesperson of Steinbrueck 10 June. Kleine succeeded Michael Donnermeyer. EPA/Wolfgang Kumm

GERMANY POLITICS SPD

epa03738794 Political journalist and author Rolf Kleine (L) attends a press conference in Berlin, Germany, 10 June 2013. The former journalist for newspaper 'Bild' was named the new spokesperson of German chancellor candidate and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) Peer Steinbrueck (R) 10 June. Kleine succeeded Michael Donnermeyer. EPA/Wolfgang Kumm

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03738718 German Chancellor Angela Merkel wipes her nose prior to a meeting of the chairmanship of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) party at Konrad-Adenauer Haus in Berlin, Germany, 10 June 2013. EPA/OLE SPATA

GERMANY POLITICS

epa03711827 German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere walks off after delivering a speech at the 'Celler Trialog 2013' meeting, in Celle, Germany, 22 May 2013. The meeting takes place until 23 May under the theme 'Politik - Bundeswehr - Wirtschaft' (Politics - German Armed Forces - Economy). De Maiziere came under fire in parliament earlier in May over an aborted drone project that swallowed an estimated 666 million euros (860 million dollars) in public funds. EPA/SEBASTIAN KAHNERT

GERMANY POLITICS GOVERNMENT

epa03691745 German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble browses files prior to the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, 08 May 2013. The cabinet has adopted a tightening of the corporate law. Shareholders now have the right to get more control over remuneration of board members. EPA/KAY NIETFELD

GERMANY POLITICS

epa03653732 Chancellor candidate for the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), Peer Steinbrueck, speaks at a press conference in Berlin, Germany, 08 April 2013. Steinbrueck presented a plan with eight points against tax fraud and tax compliance during a duscussion on tax oases. EPA/MICHAEL KAPPELER

GERMANY POLITICS GOVERNMENT

epa03593132 German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a meeting at the German Bundestag parliament in Berlin, Germany, 21 February 2013. Merkel delivered a government statement on the EU summit held in Brussels early in February. EPA/WOLFGANG KUMM

GERMANY POLITICS GOVERNMENT

epa03575638 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and German Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan (L) leave a press statement after announcing Schavan's resignation, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 09 February 2013. Germany's embattled Education and Science Minister Annette Schavan resigned 09 February over a plagiarism scandal, dealing an election-year blow to Angela Merkel's government. A university panel on 07 February found the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) minister guilty of 'deliberate deception' for using foreign text passages without proper citation in her 33-year-old thesis. Chancellor Merkel in the joint news conference with Schavan said she had accepted her resignation 'with a heavy heart' and praised the minister's achievements in her 17-year political career. EPA/WOLFGANG KUMM

GERMANY POLITICS GOVERNMENT

epa03575023 German Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan (L) along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) give a statement to the media to announce Schavan's resignation, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 09 February 2013. Germany's embattled Education and Science Minister Annette Schavan resigned 09 February over a plagiarism scandal, dealing an election-year blow to Angela Merkel's government. A university panel 07 February found the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) minister guilty of 'deliberate deception' for using foreign text passages without proper citation in her 33-year-old thesis. Chancellor Merkel in the joint news conference with Schavan said she had accepted her resignation 'with a heavy heart' and praised the minister's achievements in her 17-year political career. EPA/WOLFGANG KUMM

GERMANY POLITICS GOVERNMENT

epa03575013 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and German Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan give a statement to the media to announce Schavan's resignation, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 09 February 2013. Germany's embattled Education and Science Minister Annette Schavan resigned 09 February over a plagiarism scandal, dealing an election-year blow to Angela Merkel's government. A university panel 07 February found the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) minister guilty of 'deliberate deception' for using foreign text passages without proper citation in her 33-year-old thesis. Chancellor Merkel in the joint news conference with Schavan said she had accepted her resignation 'with a heavy heart' and praised the minister's achievements in her 17-year political career. EPA/MICHAEL KAPPELER

GERMANY POLITICS EDUCATION

epa03551910 German Minister of Education and Research Annette Schavan arrives for a talk at the Free University of Berlin (FU) in Berlin, Germany, 23 January 2013. A panel at the philosophy faculty of Heinrich Heine University in Duesseldorf on 22 January decided to launch an inquiry that could lead them to strip Schavan of her doctor title. German leader Angela Merkel on 23 January lent support to her education minister despite the launch of an academic plagiarism inquiry against the chancellor's ally. Schavan insisted that she was innocent of having copied parts of her 1980 doctoral thesis, entitled 'People and Conscience,' without proper sourcing. EPA/SOERENSTACHE

GERMANY POLITICS PARTIES

epa03543982 Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and chairwoman of the German conservative Christian Democratic Union, CDU, party, smiles as she attends a meeting of the CDU in the Germany's Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania state, in Stralsund, northern Germany, 19 January 2013. Merkel during the meeting was confirmed direct candidate of her home electoral district for the general elections in Germany later this year 2013. EPA/Ove Arscholl

GERMANY POLITICS REGIONAL ELECTIONS CAMPAIGNING

epa03525146 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and Lower-Saxony state governor David McAllister (R) pose together on the stage during the election campaign launch of the German state of Lower Saxony's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, at the Volkswagenhalle arena in Braunschweig, Germany, 05 January 2013. Regional state election will be held in Lower Saxony on 20 January 2013 and because Germany's ruling CDU-FDP constellation is mirrored in Lower Saxony, all eyes are now on the north-western state governed by Merkel's protege, Scottish-German born premier David McAllister. EPA/JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE

GERMANY POLITICS GOVERNMENT

epa03520654 German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for photographs after the recording of her annual New Year's speech at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on 30 December 2012. EPA/John MacDougall / POOL EMBARGOED UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2012 AT 00:01

GERMANY POLITICS GOVERNMENT

epa03520653 German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seen on a TV monitor in a nearby room as she prepares to record her annual New Year's speech at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on 30 December 2012. EPA/John MacDougall / POOL EMBARGOED UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2012 AT 00:01

GERMANY POLITICS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during the synod of the German Protestant church at Timmendorfer Strand, northern Germany, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012. Germany's ruling center-right coalition has decided to increase childcare benefits, spend more money on transportation projects and end an unpopular medical charge less than a year before a general election, officials said Monday. The measures _ costing more than Ä3 billion ($3.9 billion) per year _ come at a time when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble are urging other European nations to rein in spending and cut back public debt. (AP Photo/dapd, Olaf Malzahn)

GERMANY POLITICS

epa03451390 The chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Sigmar Gabriel, talks at a press conference, after a SPD meeting in Berlin, Germany, 29 October 2012. EPA/TIM BRAKEMEIER