New Delhi, Oct. 25 -- MUNICH - Chancellor Friedrich Merz told delegates at the Christian Social Union's party congress on Saturday that Germany's economy is under pressure and that the government's reforms are needed immediately. "We don't need these reforms at some point in the future; we need them now," he said, according to the German-language reporting by Der Spiegel.

Merz closed the two-day conference of the Bavarian conservatives after party chief Markus Soder spoke. He said many Germans are struggling with higher prices and that social welfare systems face enormous strain, and he called for renewing the economic and social foundations of the country so they hold for decades, RIA Novosti reported. He wanted the reform package set i...