France, Germany get backing from Brussels on security proposals

German police officers stand guard near the Bayerischer Hof hotel where the 53rd Munich Security Conference will take place in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - France and Germany won backing from the European Union's executive on Wednesday for proposals to tighten security across Europe, which include giving more powers to governments to monitor frontiers with other EU states.

Both governments face elections in the coming months against nationalists who say Europe's open internal borders are at least partly to blame for Islamist bloodshed in Berlin, Brussels and Paris. Their interior ministers wrote jointly to the European Commission this week listing ways to improve public safety.