French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Brussels to take immediate action to lower energy prices, including by delaying a law on methane emissions. In a letter to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Macron urged the bloc to bring forward measures to tame energy prices.

European gas prices have risen from €27 to €80 per megawatt hour this year due to the crisis in the Middle East, while oil futures recently traded above $100 a barrel. The letter asks the Commission president to delay an incoming law that critics warn could restrict the availability of oil and gas imports into Europe.

France is also demanding Brussels boost production of jet fuel and diesel by temporarily easing technical rules on refiners, aiming to boost refineries' production by up to 20 per cent. It wants to enable more biofuels and extend joint EU purchasing of gas-to-liquid products.

Macron's request to delay the methane rules by one year adds to pressure on the Commission to relax environmental regulation. The rules impose strict requirements for importers of oil and gas to monitor and restrict methane emissions, or risk fines of up to 20 per cent of annual turnover. More than a dozen member states have called for a delay, but Macron's intervention is the first time France has opposed it publicly.