Trichet calls for united EU at the IMF

"I would urge the Europeans to have a united position," Trichet said when asked about the possibility of cutting the number of EU seats at the IMF.

Speaking at a press conference at the Forum Ambrosetti, a political and economic gathering in northern Italy, Trichet said a common EU position on IMF reform is "very important for global governance".

He stressed he was speaking "on a personal basis" rather than as president of the European Central Bank, which he said had "no position" on IMF reform.

Europe currently holds nine of the 24 seats on the IMF executive board. Apart from Japan, which holds a seat of its own, this is as much as Asia (four), the Middle East (three) and Latin America (two) put together.

There have been ongoing plans to re-balance voting rights to give emerging economies more clout, with proposals including limiting the European Union to a single seat on the IMF board, and tipping the scale toward China and Brazil.

At the press conference in Italy, Trichet also said it would be "the worst possible option" to remove crisis-hit Greece from the eurozone.