The German chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, has won a vote in parliament to allow a huge increase in state borrowing that is set to super-charge the country’s military spending.

Germany’s parliament made history Tuesday as it voted to sharply increase defense spending – by exempting it from limits on the country’s assumption of debt. Germany’s upper house, the Bundesrat, is widely expected to approve this change with a vote scheduled for Friday.

Germany's parliament voted Tuesday in favor of incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz's massive debt reform, which will free up hundreds of billions of euros for Europe's defenses amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

The multibillion-euro package loosens borrowing limits and allows new investments in defense, infrastructure and climate. The plan was backed by the conservative CDU/CSU alliance, center-left SPD and Greens.

Germany's would-be next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, won lawmakers' approval to loosen strict debt rules for higher defense spending as doubts mount about the strength of the trans-Atlantic alliance.