Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said “old” EU and Nordic countries lack fiscal flexibility when compared to their European investment-grade peers.

“All sovereigns in the bottom quartile are either Nordic or continental ‘old’ EU members, with Belgium placed lowest, preceded by Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Italy, with France, Norway, and Finland not faring much better,” S&P’s credit analyst Eileen Zhang said in the latest report.

“In general, countries with relatively greater economic liberalism do well, which is exemplified by Switzerland topping the rankings, closely followed by Cyprus, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, and Malta.”

However, the lack of fiscal flexibility in Belgium, or the Nordic nations, is not an acute concern, as these countries have balanced budgets or ones in surplus, Zhang said.

“Poor fiscal flexibility is more immediately problematic, however, where the sovereign faces sizable budgetary imbalances, as in Italy and France. The above-average flexibility of Malta, the UK, and the Czech Republic, however, should allow these countries to bring higher deficits under control,” she added.