Brief: Germany's grand coalition and Palestine's big ask

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This is the Brief from Brussels, a roundup of the top stories from the EU’s de facto political capital. In this edition, fans of a strong Europe root for Germany’s so-called GroKo – the grand coaltion – but SPD voters might not give their blessing. Mahmoud Abbas is in Brussels to ask the EU for formal recognition of the Palestinian state. The Palestinian delegation also wants Europe to serve as an honest broker in peace talks with Israel, now that they’ve lost trust in America.