The European Union is prepared to intervene over Greece should it be required to, EU President Herman Van Rompuy told Le Monde newspaper on Friday.

"We are ready to intervene if the Greeks ask us to," he said.

Van Rompuy added in the interview with Le Monde that the EU would be forced to take tough measures to tackle the problem of budget deficits within the euro zone.

"When I look at the agenda, at the necessary reforms, the budget challenges, we will be forced to take unpopular measures," he said.

Fears over Greece's fiscal deficit have rattled financial markets in recent weeks, and Van Rompuy told Le Monde that the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) were "on the same wavelength" regarding Greece.