German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble rejected on Monday a European Commission plan to give the European Central Bank sweeping powers to monitor all Euro zone banks, saying it should instead focus only on systemically important institutions.
The European Commission has put forward stricter rules for the credit rating agencies that rank countries' and companies' debt. The rules says agencies, including Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch, should follow stricter standards, be more transparent about their ratings and be held accountable for their mistakes.
A European Commissioner has warned it may be necessary to further regulate the role of credit rating agencies. Michel Barnier, in charge of revamping financial services, told the European Parliament he had been surprised by the rapid deterioration of Greece's rating.