The European Union (EU) saw its ratings outlook cut late Monday by Moody's, after the ratings agency warned that risks to its four biggest budget contributors could take the whole group down.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Moody's took the action on the EU's Aaa rating, citing its recent outlook cuts to France, Germany, the U.K. and the Netherlands. Since those four countries make up about 45% of the EU's budget contributions, any change in their status would have a disproportionate effect on the overall body of nations.
Moody's released a statement in Frankfurt late on Monday that detailed its actions, which included dropping the outlook on the EU's Aaa long-term bond rating to negative from stable and also cutting from stable to negative the agency's outlook on the EU's medium-term note program, which carries a provisional Aaa rating.