BUKOWINA TATRZANSKA, Poland, March 7 (Reuters) - P oland's improved ties with the European Union are important for its credit standing, but Moody's needs to see the implications of fiscal and economic policy changes before deciding on any ratings change, the agency's strategist told Reuters on Thursday.
Poland's rating has long been set at A2, and was even longer at single A, Colin Ellis, Global Credit Strategist at Moody's said, adding that he did not expect policy changes that would prompt the agency to change the rating in the short term.
Mending ties with the EU would be credit-positive but was not likely to lead to an immediate rating change given that Poland's rating has been historically very stable, he said.
"If you ask me where the rating is going to be in a year's time, I would probably say A2. I don't think it's going to change," Ellis said on the sidelines of a capital markets conference.
The EU executive last month announced Warsaw will gain access to up to 137 billion euros ($150 billion) of the bloc's funds after the new government in Warsaw began implementing reforms it says will restore judicial independence.
The funds inflow will boost an economy weighed down by weakness in big trading partner Germany. It will also strengthen the Polish currency, Adam Glapinski, the governor of the National Bank of Poland, said on Thursday.
Ellis said that sustained improvements in Poland's institutional, fiscal and economic strength would be factors that could prompt Moody's to consider a ratings change for Poland. ($1 = 0.9145 euros) (Reporting by Anna Koper; Writing by Marek Strzelecki; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
