EU secures deal to regulate Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline: Merkel

European Union countries have reached an agreement on how to regulate Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday, declining to give details on the compromise.

"Regarding the gas directive, we have reached an agreement and this was possible because Germany and France worked closely together," Merkel told a joint news conference with Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.