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Chancellor Angela Merkel
Photo: Odd Andersen / AFP
Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for more international agreements on future gas needs.
This could also take place in the G20 framework, it said.
You also advise against rash accusations, said Merkel with a view to the high gas prices and alluding to allegations against Russia.
The government in Moscow is accused of holding back gas supplies in order to accelerate the start of the Nordstream2 pipeline.
Merkel pointed out that many factors play a role in the gas price.
"Pricing is a complicated thing," she said.
Referring to a conversation with China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang, Merkel said that China, for example, is afraid of a quick switch from coal to gas-fired power plants because, given the size of the country, changes in the global gas market would quickly ensue.
"We have to exchange ideas here, perhaps also at the G20 or at least internationally, about the expected energy requirements for the transformation of the economy," said Merkel.
Germany, for example, will be climate neutral in 25 years and order less natural gas, while China will still need gas until 2060.
That is why it would be important to be able to plan better.
The Chancellor praised the measures proposed by the EU Commission against high energy prices, but pointed out that some countries had already secured their energy supplies for the next few years through long-term contracts.
The long-term average of the gas price actually fluctuates between 15 and 20 euros per megawatt hour; it is currently 65 euros.
Electricity is on the stock exchange in Germany and has become around 140 percent more expensive since the beginning of the year, and in Spain by as much as 425 percent.
In some cases, oil prices have reached their highest levels in three years.
ssu / Reuters
