Earlier, Greek Foreign Minister, Stavros Lambridinis, said the agencies' actions in the debt crisis had been "madness". Ratings agencies have downgraded Greece and Portugal many times recently. The three main agencies are Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch.

German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, told a news conference that he wanted to "break the oligopoly of the ratings agencies" and limit their influence.

'Speculation'

On Tuesday, Moody's downgraded Portugal's debt to "junk" status, citing worries that the country may need a second bail-out. "The timing of Moody's decision is not only questionable, but also based on absolutely hypothetical scenarios which are not in line at all with implementation", said Commission spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj.

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