There goes plan A. With the threat to downgrade the credit ratings of the eurozone’s six triple A rated nations, Europe’s bail-out fund has been holed below the water line. The European Financial Stability Facility’s appeal to investors lay in its triple A status, backed by the creditworthiness of Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland and Austria. But with the future of the eurozone in doubt, the idea that any of its strongest members is still a top-notch credit must be fanciful. If the eurozone’s core loses its triple A status – which looks likely if there is not significant progress at this weekend’s summit – the bloc’s finances could become unsustainable.
A計劃完了。隨著歐元區6個AAA評級國家的主權信用評級都面臨調降威脅，歐元區紓困基金就像在吃水線下被打開一個裂口。歐洲金融穩定安排(EFSF)對投資者的吸引力，就在于其AAA評級，而這一評級靠的是德國、法國、荷蘭、盧森堡、芬蘭和奧地利的信用可靠性的支撐。可是，隨著歐元區的未來成為一個疑問，其最強大的幾個成員國仍能保持最高信用評級的想法，必定是不現實的。如果歐元區的核心失去AAA評級——如果本周末的峰會沒有重大進展，就很可能發生這種局面——那么歐元區的財政就可能變得不可持續。