High energy prices, which affect Europeans, must be resolved at the EU level, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union this semester, said on Monday, Reuters reports.

On Friday, Petr Fiala informed that the Czech Republic will convene an emergency meeting of the EU Energy Ministers, devoted to the increase in energy prices following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

The decision to convene this meeting comes amid attempts by EU member states to reduce their dependence on Russia for oil and gas supplies.

In a message on Twitter, Fiala stated on Monday that he spoke again with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

“Before the EU Energy Council, we want to find, together with EU leaders, a way to help citizens and companies,” the Czech prime minister said, according to Agerpres.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer asked the European Union on Sunday to “decouple the price of electricity from that of gas” in order to lower electricity bills.

Last week, at the TTF hub in Amsterdam, where reference prices for natural gas in Europe are set, quotations rose by over 6%, reaching almost 316 euros for a Megawatt hour (MWh). In the spring, at the TTF hub in Amsterdam, the quotations reached the record level of almost 335 euros/MWh.

In recent weeks, the market has tightened further as extremely hot and dry weather has disrupted fuel transport on rivers and limited hydro and nuclear power production. As a result, demand for gas is increasing at a time when supplies from Russia are decreasing.

In Europe, gas prices are more than ten times higher than the average for this time of year, destabilizing economies, undermining the euro and increasing pressure on politicians to mitigate the impact of high inflation. Supply disruptions intensified this week, increasing competition with Asia for supplies.

The supply of Russian gas remains at a low level, and lower flows from Norway are expected in September, due to maintenance works.