European leaders hit back Saturday at the downgrade by Standard & Poor's of the credit ratings of nine European nations, calling the move unfounded and inconsistent.
欧洲领导人星期六对标准普尔公司(S&P)下调9个欧洲国家信用评级的举动进行回击，称这一举动是没有根据和不符合标准的。From Larnaka to Brussels, European Union officials were on the defensive Saturday, downplaying the downgrades while vowing to push through fiscal reforms.
从拉纳卡到布鲁塞尔，欧盟官员星期六进行辩护，对评级机构标准普尔下调信用评级不予重视，同时誓言推动财政改革。In a widely anticipated move, the rating agency downgraded by a notch the ratings of five European countries, including the region's second-largest economy France. It downgraded four others - Italy, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus - by two notches.
标准普尔在广泛的预期中将5个欧洲国家的信用评级下调了一级，其中包括欧洲第二大经济体法国。该评级机构还将意大利、葡萄牙、西班牙和塞浦路斯4个国家的评级调降了两级。The finance minister of Cyprus called the move "arbitrary and unfounded." The Austrian government also criticized the measure. European Economic and Monetary Commissioner Olli Rehn called the downgrades inconsistent.
塞浦路斯财政部长称这一行动是“武断和没有根据的。”奥地利政府也批评这项行动。欧盟经济和货币事务专员奥利·莱恩称降级是不符合标准的。Other politicians, like French Finance Minister Francois Fillon, sought to put a positive spin on the news.
其他政治人物、比如法国总理弗朗索瓦·菲永寻求积极地看待这一消息。At a press conference on Saturday, Fillon said that while S&P had downgraded France's once-sterling AAA to AA+, the agency had also confirmed the French economy was solid, diversified and resistant. It noted the government had implemented the necessary reforms and applied a credible strategy to reduce its debt and deficit.
菲永星期六在一个记者会上说，虽然标准普尔将法国的信用评级从最高的AAA下调到AA+，但该机构也确认法国经济强劲、多样化、有抵抗力。标普指出，法国政府实行了必要的改革，并采取了可信赖的策略来削减债务和赤字。Fillon also said a new fiscal discipline pact agreed to by European leaders last month showed they were proactive in addressing the eurozone crisis. In Germany, which retained its AAA rating, Chancellor Angela Merkel called on European leaders to move quickly to adopt the pact, which was spearheaded by France and Germany.
菲永还说，欧洲领导人上个月达成了一项有关财政秩序的新协议，显示出他们前瞻性地解决欧元区危机。德国保持了AAA的信用评级。德国总理默克尔呼吁欧洲领导人迅速行动采纳这项新协议。这项协议是由法国和德国带头制定的。But S&P has criticized the European Union pact as an insufficient answer to the crisis, an assessment shared by analysts like Tomasz Michaelski of the HEC business school in Paris. Michaelski also doesn't believe the downgrades will prompt European leaders to take bolder steps when they meet at the end of January.
但是标准普尔对欧盟的这项协议提出批评，称它不足以解决当前的危机。分析人士、如巴黎HEC商学院的托马斯·米哈尔斯基同意标普的观点。米哈尔斯基还认为，评级被下调不会促使欧洲领导人在1月底举行会议时采取更大胆的行动。"I don't believe that there's going to be a general solution to the problem reached at a common European summit," said Michaelski. "I don't believe that can happen. There are so many different interests. Each country is going to have to heal itself."
米哈尔斯基说：“我认为，这个普通的欧盟领导人峰会不会达成解决当前问题的总体方案。我认为不会。存在着太多不同的利益。每个国家将不得不自我痊愈。”In practical terms, the downgrades mean that some countries may have to borrow money at higher costs. The EU's bailout fund may also be affected. But some analysts believe that since so many countries have been downgraded, including the United States last summer, it may have little tangible impact.
从实际的角度来看，评级被下调意味着一些国家的借款成本可能会升高。欧盟救助基金可能也会受到影响。但一些分析师认为，既然许多国家的评级都被下调了，包括去年夏天美国的评级被下调，实际的影响可能微乎其微。
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