Italy SMEs to get 1bn under Juncker Plan

(ANSA) - Brussels, March 4 - An agreement signed Friday between the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Italian Guarantee Fund will give 20,000 Italian small and medium enterprises (SME) access to a total of more than one billion euros as part of the Juncker Plan.
    The counter-guarantee agreement supports funding to the SMEs over the next 12 months under the European Commission's Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (COSME) programme.
    "Italy is very committed to contracting SME financing agreements as part of the Juncker Plan: the number stipulated in Italy is much higher than in other Member States," said Jyrki Katainen, economic vice-president for the European Commission.