(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Olaf Scholz signaled his willingness to discuss reforming Germany’s budget rules that limit borrowing to a fraction of the country’s economic output.

While the restrictions — known as the debt brake — are needed to prevent over-spending, one could discuss whether they’re still fit for purpose in their current form, Scholz said late Monday. 

“Let’s discuss how such a rule should be,” Scholz said during an event in Brandenburg an der Havel near Berlin. “Whether it would be written today like it was written a few years ago — that’s also open to debate.”

Under the mechanism now in place — created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis — annual net new borrowing is limited to 0.35% of GDP, with exceptions only permitted to deal with natural disasters and other emergencies.

The rules are enshrined in Germany’s constitution and any push to change them would need the support of a two-thirds majority in parliament, making it highly unlikely in the current political environment.

Scholz’s comments mimic those of Lars Klingbeil, co-leader of his Social Democrats, who told Bloomberg News last week that Germany will have to loosen the restrictions if it wants to maintain defense spending above NATO’s target in coming years.

Read More: Germany Needs More Debt to Meet NATO Goal, Scholz’s Party Says

Friedrich Merz, the leader of the main opposition conservatives, has ruled out any changes to the debt limits. The SPD’s fiscally hawkish Free Democrat coalition partners, under Finance Minister Christian Lindner, are also against it.

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