Moody’s sees only small fall in eurozone debt to 2020

Rating agency Moody’s said the eurozone sovereigns’ ratings will likely remain stable in 2016-2017 but fading fiscal consolidation, limited progress on structural reforms, and rising political risks limit upside potential and create longer-term risks.

The rating agency’s caution comes after ECB president Mario Draghi warned European leaders on Thursday that monetary policy alone would not be enough to jump-start the economy and governments needed to do their job by pushing through structural reforms.

Even as debt loads remain stubbornly high, the deleveraging process has been hampered by a combination of low growth and low inflation with progress on structural reforms limited at both a national and a eurozone level.