EXCLUSIVE How Fitch explains the fact that Greece has a better rating than Romania

Even though it may seem paradoxical that Greece, one of the European countries that took the worst hit from the financial crisis, has a better country rating than Romania, the representatives of Fitch explained the reasons, at the request of our editors.

Douglas Renwick, head of the EMEA division of Fitch Ratings, said: "Greece is a member of the Eurozone and thanks to that fact, its banks can use funding from the ECB and the government can benefit from a substantial aid package from the other European member countries. In spite of acute financing problems that Greece has, we consider that the risk of a substantial depreciation of the currency is still low. The ratings of Greece and Romania are still very close".

In February, Fitch changed the outlook for Romania from "negative" to "stable" and confirmed its ratings for the long term debts in foreign currency and in lei to "BB plus", and "BBB minus", respectively.

One month later, Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece"s rating for long term debt denominated in Euros and foreign currencies, by two levels, to "BBB minus" with a negative outlook, due to worsening budget problems caused by the difficult economic outlook.

Mr. Renwick considers that the restructuring of the public sector in Romania represents an important step towards the return to fiscal sustainability and even though it poses certain risks concerning the recovery of the GDP, it is vital to reestablish confidence in the economy.

"We believe that the restructuring of the public sector is an important step in restoring fiscal sustainability. Even if we still see risks in their implementation, the fiscal reforms are viable in the current climate, even more so than in normal times, because the need for reform is obvious", said Renwick.

Ratings agency Fitch anticipates the economy will drop 1% this year, after claiming in January said it was expecting a growth of 2%, and she does not expect a significant improvement of the sovereign rating in the near future.