Trichet, who heads the European Central Bank as well as the continent's super-watchdog on financial stability, said the euro zone bailout fund should be made as flexible as possible, but without involving the ECB in leveraging it.

"The crisis is systemic and must be tackled decisively," Trichet told the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

"The high interconnectedness in the EU financial system has led to a rapidly rising risk of significant contagion. It threatens financial stability in the EU as a whole and adversely impacts the real economy in Europe and beyond."