The future of the European Union definitely looks bleak.

First it was the US which saw its credit rating getting downgraded for the first time in history. Now, it is raining downgrades in Europe. S&P, a global credit rating agency, downgraded France and Austria, two AAA rated countries. Plus, it slashed the ratings of seven other countries, among them Italy and Spain. If this wasn't bad enough, the agency also gave 14 out of 16 countries a negative outlook. This means that a further downgrade is possible within the next two years. Germany, Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg, on the other hand managed to hold onto their ratings. This mass downgrade confirms our fears that the Eurozone crisis is far from being resolved. Not surprisingly the euro slumped more than 1% to a 17-month low against the dollar. The future of the European Union definitely looks bleak.