Angela Merkel coalition talks fail in Germany
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The collapse of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's talks to form a three-way coalition government is "bad news for Europe" given the leading role of the European Union's biggest member state, the Dutch foreign minister said on Monday.
The euro and European shares slid after the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) unexpectedly pulled out on Sunday from weeks of talks with Merkel's conservative bloc and the ecologist Greens.
"It's bad news for Europe that the government in Germany will take a little longer," new Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra told reporters on arrival for talks with his EU peers in Brussels.
"Germany is a very influential country within the EU so if they don't have a government and therefore don't have a mandate it'll be very hard for them to take positions."
