Germany has proposed a plan to lower gas prices by forming an alliance of buyers with energy-intensive Asian countries to convince major exporters to lower prices, Politico writes.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz presented the idea to EU leaders on the sidelines of an informal summit in Prague.

According to the plan, Germany will use its G7 presidency to form a global alliance to lower gas prices.

The alliance would allow the EU to team up with countries such as Japan and South Korea, which are among the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), to avoid buying from each other. It could also be used to jointly approach major gas-exporting countries such as the United States, Canada and Norway and convince them to lower prices.

Earlier this week, Scholz also spoke of the need to reach a global solution, arguing that it is in the interest of gas-exporting countries to have happy customers.

Germany's proposal comes as a large number of EU countries, including France, Belgium, Italy and Poland, are pushing for a price cap on gas imports to Europe.

Germany and the Netherlands opposed the move, fearing that such a forced price cap would simply lead to gas exports being diverted to Asian countries, resulting in a gas shortage in Europe by next year.