Spanish debt woes weigh on eurozone
With impending election in Greece, Spanish and Italian efforts to avert eurozone-wide crisis will be put to test.
The credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Spain at a time the country’s struggling banks are set to receive up to $125bn in bailout funding from the eurozone.
Is credit rating has been reduced from AAA to BAA, and the agency says it could make further downgrades.
Days after a bond sale the Spanish government touted as a success, there are new fears that a bailout of its banks may not have been enough to keep the nation from economic disaster.
The president of the European Commission, Jose Barroso, has called for greater financial integration within the EU, but all across the eurozone the worry of what will happen next is evident.
In Italy, Mario Monti, the prime minister, continues to insist that Rome is not in need of a bailout. But for some, the implementation of austerity measures will not be enough to save the Italian economy.
In Greece, this weekend’s election will determine whether the country accepts the eurozone’s bailout and austerity scheme or if it could be the first nation to drop out of the economic bloc.
Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego reports.