Germany's Merz vows billions for defence, economy

Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that his centre-right CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) would propose an unprecedented package of billions of euros in extra spending on defence and infrastructure.

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The two parties are in talks on forming a coalition government after last month's general election, which have been given new urgency by US President Donald Trump's clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the freezing of American military aid to Kyiv. Merz said at a press conference that the two parties would bring proposals to parliament in the next week to exempt more defence spending from Germany's constitutionally enshrined “debt brake”. He vowed to do “whatever it takes” when it comes to defence “in light of threats to our freedom and peace on our continent”. It would be a dramatic departure for a country that has spent decades under the American security umbrella, and historically averse to large public debts.