German Bundestag

The bill was jointly submitted by the CDU/CSU alliance - which won last month's general election - and the Social Democrats, its potential coalition partner.

The bill calls for loosening the rules in the Basic Law governing the “debt brake,” which limits government borrowing to no more than 0.35 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The man likely to become Germany's next chancellor, Friedrich Merz of the CDU/CSU coalition, called for support for the bill. Mr Merz said German society had been given a false sense of security for at least a decade and the country had to rebuild its defences from scratch.

Meanwhile, the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, often described as a far-right party, has opposed the bill.

Nevertheless, the bill was passed by the German Bundestag with more than two-thirds of the votes, that is, 513 votes in favor and 207 votes against. The bill will be discussed in the Senate, and is expected to be passed by the Senate as well.

If enacted, the bill would exempt part of Germany's defense spending from the debt rule, signaling a major policy shift in Germany that is expected to accelerate moves to beef up security.