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.

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

German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz was set to make a last-ditch attempt on Friday to convince the Greens of his plans for a massive increase in state borrowing to bolster defence and infrastructure ahead of a parliamentary vote next week.