The international corporate taxation landscape has changed to Germany's disadvantage recently, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that her ruling coalition would try to address this.

"We know that in the area of corporate taxation, things have changed very unfavourably for Germany in recent years. Competitive relations have recently changed very much to our disadvantage. So we will try, in the grand coalition, to achieve something here," Merkel told.

Merkel also described a future trade agreement between the European Union and United States as being of existential importance, saying she would keep trying to make progress despite the "regrettable" opposition from France. "We have a mandate for talks with the United States and I think it is of existential importance," Merkel told.