German lawmakers reached an agreement on Friday to exempt some defense spending from the nation’s tight rules on running up debt as European leaders are scrambling to shore up the continent's defenses themselves in the face of a Trump administration that is threatening to back out.

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.