Under Germany's constitution, Merz needs a two-thirds majority to get the changes passed. With the support of the Greens and Social Democrats, he should succeed. Urgent motions by both the AfD and the Left to challenge next week's sessions of the outgoing parliament failed at the constitutional court on Friday, enabling the vote to go ahead.

By Andreas Rinke, Holger Hansen and Sarah Marsh BERLIN (Reuters) -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,

The apparent deal with the Greens paves the way for up to €1 trillion in new spending for defense and infrastructure.