European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, and Commissioner Karmenu Vella, responsible for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, will be in Valletta on Friday as part the roadshow to promote the Investment Plan for Europe.

Vice-President Katainen and Commissioner Vella will meet Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech and Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg. Hosted by the Malta Business Bureau, they will discuss the Investment Plan with a group of business leaders and SMEs. They will visit Abertax Tech, a Maltese company which focuses on research and development of battery technology and has received support from EU funds. Vice-President Katainen will also hold a discussion with members of the national Parliament and meet the Leader of the Opposition, Simon Busuttil.

Vice-President Katainen said: "As the Autumn approaches, we are starting to see the Investment Plan coming to life. Already a number of large infrastructure projects across the EU have received the green light for financial backing and can start construction. And the European Investment Fund has signed more than a dozen agreements with intermediary banks which have the support of the EU guarantee meaning small businesses and start-ups can start to benefit from this extra line of finance."

Commissioner Vella said: "There are 29,000 SMEs in Malta. What they need to be successful is good access to financing and good infrastructure to deliver. The Investment Plan, as shown with the SME initiative agreed with the Maltese Government in July, is designed to help achieve this. In my own area of responsibility of Maritime Affairs, Malta's National Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) can take advantage of the Investment plan to help deliver new and better jobs in the Blue Growth sectors in the period 2015-2020".