Germany's conservative leader clinches an major financial agreement ahead of a crunch vote in parliament.

German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said 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 it next week.

Mr Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats are in negotiations to form a government after February's election. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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,

The future Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, confirmed on Friday that the CDU/CSU Christian Democratic parties and the Social Democrats have reached an agreement with the Greens to increase Germany's debt in order to allocate additional funds for defence purposes.