German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said on Friday he had secured the crucial backing of the Greens for a massive increase in state borrowing, clearing the way for the outgoing parliament to approve the historic deal next week.

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 conservatives sealed a crucial deal Friday for a historic boost to defence and infrastructure spending, with leader-in-waiting Friedrich Merz declaring "Germany is back" as Europe grapples with the upending of the transatlantic alliance.