BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s Parliament on Tuesday completed the biggest overhaul of the bloc’s financial system since the introduction of the euro currency, passing laws to minimize the risk and cost posed by failing banks.

Lawmakers signed off on the creation of a European authority with the power to unwind or restructure failing banks, as well as a system that will see banks’ creditors — not governments — take losses first when lenders fail. The approval came after months of tough negotiations between national governments and the parliament.