Quote Originally Posted by Adrian II View Post
I don't think that replacing them with a useless EU rating agency would improve matters though.

It would be better if EU governments decided not to mind the agencies anymore and make decisions based on their own analyses and commitments.
agreed.

sadly, if the EU wants to sell debt for its borrowing requirements then it is dependent on the ratings agencies, because private investors make their decisions based off how credible government promises to repay that debt are.

for example, Italy needs to refinance, or rollover, nearly £60b before the end of 2012, and its interest rate on a ten-year bond is now 5.3% which is past the point of sustainable borrowing.

there is no such thing as eu governments ignoring the ratings agencies if they want/need to borrow.