France has called for the euro to pack a diplomatic punch to rival the power of the dollar internationally.
The French European Affairs Secretary, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, said the 15-nation eurozone needed better governance and better international representation.
"Just as there is a diplomacy of the dollar, we should have a diplomacy of the euro," he wrote in France's Le Monde newspaper.
France takes over the EU's rotating presidency in July, after Slovenia.
A senior European Commission official said that for Mr Jouyet's wish to be fulfilled the eurozone would need to speak with one voice - but that was not yet the case.
EU stability Mr Jouyet hailed the eurozone as a centre of stability amid financial turbulence.
In recent months, France has complained that the European Central Bank (ECB) has kept interest rates too high and Mr Jouyet himself has said the strong euro is causing problems for French exporters.
 What we do say for there to be better governance is for the eurozone to speak with one voice
Amelia Torres
European Commission official 
But in the article he said the currency had significantly protected the purchasing power of Europeans in the face of an increase in prices of raw materials, especially oil.
Mr Jouyet added that the euro was a world currency and Europe had to adapt to a new situation.
He called for "efficient decision-making instruments" to help "strengthen dialogue between different centres in charge of conducting economic policy and co-ordination between governments".
Commission response
A senior European Commission official, Amelia Torres, said Mr Jouyet's comments were broadly in line with what the Eurogroup - eurozone finance ministers - was also aiming for.
"What we do say for there to be better governance is for the eurozone to speak with one voice," she told the BBC News website.
"The policies of one member can have an impact on the other members."
Although France is keen to celebrate the euro's tenth birthday on 1 January 2009, the country's public finances are among the worst in the eurozone.
The economic affairs commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, has complained that France's deficit is too close to the 3% ceiling at which the commission begins disciplinary proceedings.
Original Source