13/12/2017 (Agence Europe) – President of the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME) Ulrike Rabmer-Koller said on Tuesday 12 December that she welcomed approval of the European Fund for Strategic Investment 2.0 (EFSI 2.0) by the European Parliament, increasing the fund from €21 to €33.5 billion with the aim of initiating investment of up to €500 billion (see EUROPE 11924). Rabmer-Koller says EFSI and its SME component have been successful: investment worth €88 billion has been approved and more than 500,000 SMEs will benefit from it, the UEAPME states. Rabmer-Koller highlighted the need for a strong focus on long-term finance and more risk taking to allow SMEs to invest in digitalisation. (PH)