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.

BERLIN (Reuters) - 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.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz reached a tentative agreement with the Green party on a debt-funded spending package for defense and infrastructure, people familiar with the discussions said.

German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz reached an agreement with the Greens on Friday on a massive increase in state borrowing, just days before a parliamentary vote on the issue, a source close to the negotiations said.

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

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,