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 reached an agreement with the Greens on Friday on a massive increase in state borrowing just days ahead of a parliamentary vote next week. This should ensure the package's approval in the lower house of Germany's parliament on Tuesday and by the upper house on Friday.

Germany’s chancellor-to-be Friedrich Merz has agreed a deal with the Green party to inject hundreds of billions into the country’s military and ageing infrastructure, paving the way for his spending package to be adopted by parliament next week.

Germany's likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Friday hailed a cross-party agreement on a landmark infrastructure and defence package amounting to €500 billion ($545 billion). The agreement between his conservative bloc,