German lawmakers have reached an agreement to exempt some defense spending from the nation's tight rules on running up debt.

German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz announced Friday his conservatives had struck a deal with the Greens on massively boosting defense

An agreement has been reached on plans by German chancellor hopeful Friedrich Merz to massively ramp up public borrowing, a source from the Greens party said on Friday, adding: "We are satisfied." Greens' support is seen as crucial to Merz's bid to pass the debt plan with a two-thirds majority in Germany's outgoing parliament.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz reached an agreement with the Green party on a debt-funded spending package for defense and infrastructure, overcoming a key hurdle ahead of a crunch vote in parliament next week.

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting and leader of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) Friedrich Merz speaks during an extraordinary meeting of the German Bundestag to discuss a €500-billion infrastructure fund and a revamp of borrowing rules aimed at modernizing the military and stimulating economic growth ahead of the formation of a new parliament at end of March,

Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz reached an agreement with the Greens party on a fiscal reform package for large investments on infrastructure and defense, according to a report by newspaper Handelsblatt.