Reuters: Russia says has agreed deal with EU on OPAL gas pipeline

European Union officials and Russia have agreed a deal on the use of Germany's OPAL link to Gazprom's Nord Stream gas pipeline, a Russian energy ministry spokeswoman said on Monday.

No one from the European Commission, the EU executive, was available for immediate comment on the deal, which ends months of talks on OPAL that runs from the offshore section of Nord Stream through Germany to the Czech border.

A deal could help to improve tense ties between Russia and the European Union, although the bigger issue of the European Commission's competition investigation into Gazprom is unresolved.  MORE