The European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed on 8 April to provide EUR 47 million to support expansion, upgrading and modernisation of Maspex Group's food and drinks production and storage facilities across Eastern Europe. The agreement is backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe – the Juncker Plan. In France, the European Investment Fund (EIF) signed a EUR 2 billion agreement on 5 April with Banque Populaire and the National Federation of Socama to support more than 65,000 French very small enterprises (VSEs). On 5 April the EIF and Caixa Geral de Depósitos signed a EUR 25 million agreement in Portugal under the European Commission’s Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS) programme. CGD will launch a new product to finance SMEs in the cultural and creative sector in Portugal. On 4 April, the EIF concluded four financing agreements in Romania, under which the country will benefit from over EUR 170 million in financing on favourable terms. The EIF is also backing Slovenian Resalta, a provider of energy efficiency solutions, with EUR 6 million for further development of independent energy services and renewable energy solutions. Access to finance for Finnish SMEs is set to receive a boost through a guarantee agreement signed between the EIF and LocalTapiola Corporate Lending fund on 29 March. The guarantee agreement will facilitate new lending up to EUR 100 million within the company’s corporate lending portfolio.