The deal, if approved, will be formally signed on Monday, paving the way for Friedrich Merz to be elected chancellor

Elsewhere, Swedish police said they have apprehended a suspect after a shooting in which three people were killed in the city of Uppsala on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

A large area was cordoned off in the centre of Uppsala, a university city 45 miles north of Stockholm, after witnesses described hearing multiple shots at about 5pm local time and seeing people running in different directions and hiding.