(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, SEP 18 - German lawmakers passed a long-delayed 2025 budget Thursday, with huge extra debt to beef up the armed forces amid high tensions with Russia and to boost infrastructure spending. This year's budget was supposed to have been signed off long ago, but the process stalled after the collapse last year of then-chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition amid furious rows over public spending. Following February elections, conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took power pledging to ramp up spending on the armed forces and on infrastructure to fix crumbling roads and bridges. The budget passed Thursday provides for 502.5 billion euros ($595 billion) in expenditure in 2025 -- some 25 billion euros more than the previous year. New borrowing in Europe's top economy is forecast to be 81.8 billion euros -- higher than envisaged under the previous government's plans. Speaking before MPs voted on the budget, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told parliament that the government "places absolute priority on ensuring that economic growth returns to Germany, that jobs here are secured". (ANSA-AFP).