The Commission has welcomed the vote by Members of the European Parliament’s Budgets and Economic and Monetary Affairs committees in which they agreed on their position on extending, expanding and reinforcing the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the so-called “EFSI 2.0”. It is now up to the Parliament and Member States to reach agreement on final adoption of the EFSI 2.0 proposal. Meanwhile, the European Investment Fund (EIF) and Banca Popolare Pugliese, assisted by Banca Akros, signed an agreement to provide EUR 80 million in financing to innovative Italian SMEs and small mid-caps over the next two years. The agreement is part of the European Commission’s InnovFin initiative, backed by the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. It was made possible by the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is the central pillar of the European Commission's Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the “Juncker Plan”.