French and German governments named messaging app Telegram as they urged greater cooperation in anti-terror investigations.

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve and his German counterpart called for the European Commission to look at the possibility of a directive compelling operators and service providers in the EU to decrypt messages for security services.

The rule would apply to all operators and service providers, regardless of whether they are based in the EU or not.

The proposal came in a joint statement by the two governments on internal security in Europe. The decryption proposal is part of a wider package of security measures urged by France and Germany in the wake of recent terror attacks.

Telegram was singled out as a company who could do more to cooperate.

Cazeneuve had indicated that he was pursuing a joint agreement with Thomas de Maiziere, the German interior minister, a fortnight ago.

While the wider notion of encryption must not be undermined because it is central to important functions such as financial transactions, Cazeneuve said, the likes of Telegram must cooperate when approached by law enforcement and judiciary during a terror-related inquiry.

The French and German proposal will be further discussed at an EU summit next month (16 September) in Bratislava.