In December 2010, it was decided to replace these temporary mechanisms by a permanent one, the European Stability Mechanism, which will become effective already in the second half of this year. The severe financing problems of Greece, Ireland and Portugal furthermore forced the EU and the IMF to provide a joint support package with strict conditionality.
As a reaction to the lack of compliance with existing rules in the past, and in order to tackle substantial macroeconomic imbalances and heterogeneous economic developments within the EU, the economic governance framework was substantially revised in 2011. The so-called “Six Pack” introduced stricter rules for public finances and addressed structural heterogeneities via a new scoreboard evaluating structural developments and emerging imbalances.