Leaders of the eurozone's strongest economies have hit back at Moody's decision to lower its opinion of their creditworthiness, as fresh data suggested the region has sunk further into recession.
In a sign of the EU’s growing unease over the mounting crisis in Greece, officials said José Manuel Barroso will travel to Athens this week to meet Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras to discuss the status of his government’s efforts to meet the demands of its €174 billion bailout. It is nearly three years since the European Commission president’s last visit to Athens.
Meanwhile, the finance ministry of Germany, Europe’s dominant economy, said in a statement countering Moody’s warnings that it will continue to work to maintain stability in the eurozone. “Germany will, through solid economic and financial policy, defend its ‘safe haven’ status and continue to responsibly maintain its anchor role in the eurozone.”
Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers, added that the Moody’s warning also confirmed “the very strong rating” of Germany and its fellow eurozone triple-A rated economies.
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