The euro has fallen in four of the past five days after Moody's cut Portugal's credit rating to Ba2, two steps below investment grade, reigniting concern the region's debt crisis will spread beyond Greece as officials remain divided over a solution to the crisis.
Euro-area finance ministers are meeting in Brussels today as rising Italian bond yields stoked concern the country is also being dragged into the mire.
Barnier said today that "more competition and diversity is essential" in the market for credit ratings. One "interesting idea" is the possibility of creating "a network of small and medium-sized agencies," he said.