(BRUSSELS) - Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday urged French President Nicolas Sarkozy to push for a single eurozone seat to be established at the International Monetary Fund.

"President Sarkozy during his electoral campaign... said that there should be a single representation at the IMF," he told a conference in Brussels on the shared European currency.

"He has four more years, if he leaves (the presidency) after the first five-year term..., to follow up on the issue," he said. "I strongly urge that this is done quickly."

The appeal comes as France prepares to take on the European Union's presidency for six months starting in July with expectations high that Paris will push an ambitious agenda, especially for the eurozone.

Juncker, who is Luxembourg's prime and finance minister, is the chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers and comes as close as it gets to being the political voice of the eurozone.

The European Commission, like Juncker, has long supported the idea of a single representation for the eurozone in major international forums such as the IMF and Group of Seven.

"We have yet to develop a clear international strategy to match our growing international role," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told the conference.

"In a globalised world, failure to define and promote our interests on the world stage is neither wise nor responsible," he added. "Yet this is sometimes the reality we face when we eschew speaking with a single voice and being represented by a single chair."

Although the euro is shared by 15 of the European Union's 27 members and more are likely to join in the coming years, there is still no single seat representing the bloc.

Efforts to give the eurozone a single seat at the table still face resistance from some member states that would likely have to make way by yielding their spots for the common cause.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn voiced concerns that even if the eurozone had a single seat, the bloc's members might not be able to agree on what positions to take.

"The question is not to know whether or not the eurozone should have a single chair in the World Bank, in the IMF, and in other institutions," he said. "The question is whether or not they are able to have a single policy."

"Having several chairs in different institutions isn't a problem if everybody says the same thing," he added. "The question arises when they don't say the same things."

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