European Union Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier on Monday lashed out at Standard & Poor's move to downgrade nine of the euro zone's 17 member states at a time when those governments are working very hard to restore financial stability.
"I am surprised time and time again by the timing the rating agencies choose to make such announcements," Barnier told reporters in Hong Kong, adding that he wants to see rating firms operating with full transparency. "These rating agencies should have given their alerts five, ten years ago; not now," he said.
The commissioner added he wants the agencies to fully take into account such government efforts when issuing ratings. Nations in the euro zone are taking a "giant step" to improve governance through the regional integration of economic and financial policies, he said.
"This is not a crisis of the euro...The euro is here to stay," Barnier said.
For more: EU Barnier Lashes Out At S&P's Europe Ratings Downgrades - WSJ.com
No comments:
Post a Comment