Credit ratings agency Moody's has lowered its assessment of the European Union's long term credit outlook from stable to negative.
The agency said the change reflected the negative outlook for some of the EU's main budget contributors, including Germany, France and Britain.
Moody's also warned that a weakening of the commitment of member states to the EU would have a negative impact on the organisation's credit status, the BBC reports.
Earlier this year, Moody's put ratings of Germany, France, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom on a negative outlook.
It said that these nations were all exposed to the region's debt crisis, hurting their creditworthiness.
