Note of shortterm debt was maintained at B

The. This degradation, preceded in January of a decline of one step of the Greek note to "B " from "BB , reflects" the extent of the challenge "ahead of the country to implement tax reforms program and structural necessary to reduce its debt and deficit, says Fitch in a release." "New austerity measures are necessary to fulfil the objective of a deficit reaching 7.5 of GDP in 2011," particularly because of lower than expected tax revenues, she says.

This decision "does not take into account additional commitments that the Greek Government has already taken to meet its budgetary target in 2011 and accelerate its privatization program", responded the Greek Ministry of finance in a news release. The Ministry recalled that these new measures, including the broad outlines were unveiled mid-April but that the Greece of strengthen and clarify under pressure of his creditors EU and IMF, should be announced soon, in principle at the beginning of next week.

The rating agency said that its new note incorporates its forecasts of a new "substantial" aid of the European Union and the international monetary fund in the country. This addition to the EUR 110 billion loan in May 2011, is now under discussion, in view of the likely inability for the country to return to finance markets as expected in 2012. Fitch believes that such extension would eliminate the prospect of a "fresh restructuring or a re-profiling" of Greek debt, warning that it would deal with such a development as a default.

New degradation of Fitch brings the Greece in the speculative category "countries with only a low security of repayment", according to the classification established by the Agency. "Note of short-term debt was maintained at" B ".". The prospect of these two notes is "negative", which implies that the Agency does not exclude them even lower in the medium term.

The Agency announced this degradation while Greek long rates hit a new record Friday, from 16.5, after the breaking of the taboo prevailing until then in Europe on the prospect of a Greek debt restructuring. If the option of a haircut is excluded, that of a rescheduling is now raised, including by the leader of the euro-zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, despite the strong opposition of the European Central Bank (ECB). Unanimity is rule among the creditors of the Greece to require it more austerity measures, and an acceleration and an intensification of a privatisation program expected to deflate the debt in respect of 50 billion to the country by 2015.

Before even the sanction of the Agency, the Greek Minister of finance, Georges Papaconstantinou, had put forward his determination to follow these injunctions: "the time has come to go faster, everything must be done and everything must be done now," he launched before Parliament Friday.

"Fitch Ratings had been the last rating agency to switch the Greece in the category of issuers of debt in January," rotten "("junk bonds"), finding that despite"significant progress"in the country to reduce its public deficit, he remained faced"substantial efforts"to regain the trust of the borrowers."

Immediately after the announcement of Fitch, the: