President Mary McAleese met European Central Bank president Jean Claude Trichet in Frankfurt today as she concluded her three-day state visit to Germany.

Germany’s Social Democrats pressed for a new tax on high-income earners today as negotiators opened a decisive week in their efforts to form a new government - talks that will focus on plugging a huge budget shortfall.

Germany’s conservatives are moving toward completing the lineup of Chancellor-designate Angela Merkel’s cabinet, with a key ally preparing to nominate his final choice for the new government.