Moreover, there was no provision for risk-sharing in the initial EMU architecture. Instead, the ECB stepped in to contain the spill over risk to the rest of the euro area. 5. EMU: past reforms and some proposals for improving the euro area architecture A lot has been done in recent years following the Greek crisis to improve the functioning of EMU.
Key initiatives were the provision of intergovernmental loans to Greece, the establishment of the EFSF, and its successor the ESM, the creation of the (still incomplete) Banking Union and the application of stricter rules on banking regulation and supervision, the establishment of the European Systemic Risk Board and the development of appropriate macro-prudential instruments which allowed greater emphasis on identifying and addressing system-wide risks.