Access Investments-European Union- ROMANIA

This summer’s change in outlook means there is now at least a one-in-three chance of a downgrade over the next two years. Britain’s credit rating could be slashed below Austria and Finland's if it leaves the European Union, Standard & Poor’s has warned. Moritz Kraemer, the agency’s chief sovereign rating officer, said Britain would be stripped of its top AAA rating with a one-notch downgrade if it voted to leave the bloc, and possibly double that if relations between Britain and Brussels soured. “Should we conclude that departure from the EU is likely over the medium term, we could lower the rating by potentially more than one notch, depending on the circumstances, such as the expected future relations with the EU,” Mr Kraemer told Reuters. The UK has maintained its AAA rating with S&P since 1978, but Mr Kraemer warned that, if Britain voted to leave the EU and this triggered a Scottish secession, it would also prompt a two-notch downgrade.  While any reduction in Britain’s credit rating would still rank the UK at investment grade, it would mean just a handful of countries are rated AAA by S&P, including Germany and Luxembourg. A two-notch downgrade would also mean Britain would be deemed less credit worthy than the EU, which is currently rated AA+.  Paul Stephenson, a Vote Leave spokesman, said: "Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland all have AAA ratings from Standard & Poor's and are outside of the EU.  "We will negotiate a UK-EU relationship based on free trade and friendly cooperation so there will not be disruption to the UK economy that would warrant a downgrade."   Moody’s and Fitch, the other main rating agencies, stripped the UK of its top rating in 2013.  Moody’s warned in June that it could cut Britain’s credit rating if it left the EU. It said a British exit was likely to have “negative implications for the UK’s growth prospects".