Fitch Rating, an international rating agency, downgraded the long-term debt credit rating of the European Debt Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the eurozone financial rescue fund, from AAA to AA+ on Monday (July 15). This may be influenced by the agency's downgrade of France's sovereign credit rating to AA+ last Friday (July 12).

Fitch pointed out that after France was downgraded last Friday, the overall average sovereign credit level of the euro zone weighted by the proportion of EFSF funds has been difficult to reach the highest rating standard of AAA, which is why the agency was forced to downgrade the EFSF rating. After that, if France's rating is further downgraded from AA+, or more countries in the current AAA rating countries in the euro zone, namely Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria and Luxembourg, are downgraded again, the credit rating of EFSF will be downgraded.

However, despite the downgrade of EFSF, an important rescue fund, Fitch believes that the reform of fiscal and financial integration at the euro zone level will be further deepened in the future, and European policymakers will continue to work together with Qixin in this regard. Therefore, the risk of the future disintegration of the euro zone is still quite low.