(Adds government statement)
Standard and Poor's has lowered Malta's credit rating a notch to A-.
The government said it noted the decision, which highlighted the fact that the international crisis was worsening.
The agency downgraded France's top AAA to AA+, with a negative outlook, but left European powerhouse Germany's unchanged at AAA, stable.
S&P also downgraded Italy by two notches to BBB+, negative outlook, with Spain cut two notches to A, negative outlook, as part of a major overhaul of ratings on 16 of the 17 eurozone nations, with Greece excluded.
S&P said its rating actions reflected its view that "the policy initiatives taken by European policymakers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the eurozone."
S&P, one of the top three global ratings agencies, said it cut its long-term ratings on Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Spain by two notches.
Austria, France, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia were cut one notch while Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands all had their ratings affirmed.
In December, S&P announced that...
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