Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Credit-ratings companies should be banned from rating sovereign debt unless they have been contracted to do so by the country concerned, a European Union lawmaker said in a draft report on proposed EU rules.

Leonardo Domenici, who is reponsible for steering rules on credit-rating companies through the European Parliament, called for the measure to be added to last year’s proposals from the European Commission.

Domenici also said either “an independent public European credit rating agency” or “an existing independent Union institution shall be entrusted, with the task of assessing the creditworthiness of Member States’ sovereign debt.”

Domenici’s report will be voted on by other members of the parliament. The assembly, together with EU ministers, must agree on the the final wording of the proposed law before it can be implemented.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Brunsden in Brussels at jbrunsden@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Chapman at pchapman10@bloomberg.net