The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Garantiqa Creditguarantee (Garantiqa) signed a COSME agreement on 6 October in Hungary that will allow Garantiqa to provide guarantees totaling HUF 80 billion (ca. EUR 260 million) on loans to 3,500 Hungarian SMEs. This agreement was made possible by the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the European Commission's Investment Plan for Europe. Meanwhile, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is supporting the expansion of the Swedish fibre network in cities and rural areas by providing EUR 125 million in debt financing over the next four years to IP-Only, the country’s biggest independent network provider. In Greece, EUR 700 million of new investment for SMEs across the country will be supported by Piraeus Bank, following new backing from the EIB, the EIF and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This represents the first time that international financial organizations have invested in covered bonds issued by Greek banks since the beginning of the financial crisis. Meanwhile, the Investment Plan made its presence felt in France as well with four projects receiving the green light for financing of EUR 100 million in total.