THE European Union’s executive may ask for powers to censor credit ratings for countries in crisis, its financial reform chief said late Thursday, describing a ban as one way of stopping fallout from “ill-thought-out” ratings.

    The proposal, which officials cautioned may be impossible to police, would be the most stringent curb yet on rating agencies and highlights frustration in France, which was last week warned by Moody’s that its top rating was under threat, and Germany.

    “These rating agencies should probably be considered one of the causes of this crisis,” said Michel Barnier, the former French foreign minister who is now the EU commissioner in charge of regulating finance.

    The EU Commission plan, outlined in a draft EU law, is part of a shakeup of EU rules governing the rating agencies, which have downgraded several euro zone states in recent months — decisions that some EU leaders say have worsened the crisis.

    Experts, however, were skeptical about his plan to ban publication of ratings.

    “A rating is an opinion,” said Nicolas Veron, co-founder of Brussels think tank Bruegel. “I think politicians overestimate the impact of rating decisions and underestimate the impact of their own statements, which often move the markets more.”

    “There is a freedom of expression issue here. I fail to see how banning opinions will do anything to help financial stability.”

    But it is unlikely the European authorities could enforce any ban on the two most important agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, which are based in the United States.

    Moody’s also criticized the idea. “Proposals such as these will undermine investors’ confidence in European credits, disrupt access to capital markets for sovereign and corporate issuers, and increase volatility in the European credit markets,” said a spokesman for the ratings agency. (SD-Agencies)