(a) where, in the case of investments by undertakings in the production sector, interest and amortisation payments are covered out of operating profits or, in the case of other investments, either by a commitment entered into by the State in which the investment is made or by some other means; and

41. Calls on the Member States to coordinate skill development with greater effort in order to garner and share the benefits of new technologies and innovation; notes that decent work is achieved through growth, investment and enterprise development, together with social responsiveness;

When it is disclosed that the operating profits of the large companies in the EU rose by almost 80% in 2004, and that the percentage of profits as a proportion of GDP in the euro zone is currently approaching its highest level in the past 25 years; while salary levels continue to fall, yet both the trade balance and the balance of payments on current accounts in the euro zone have registered positive results in the past 12 months, we cannot accept the prevailing strategic importance that the Commission attaches to competitiveness and on the structural economic reforms.

There are countless cases of the allocation of inappropriate market spaces to such companies. One example is Deutsche Post , which uses its monopolist’s profit in the postal services sector to overcome competition through take-overs too, as happened in the case of DHL International , which Deutsche Post acquired, exploiting its monopolist’s profit to knock a competitor out of the market. Not to mention EDF : France agreed to work towards opening up its energy sector within the country, in the sure knowledge that EDF , which was 100% state-owned and not quoted on the Stock Exchange and which could give loans guaranteed by the state, would ...[+++] acquire companies abroad, in Italy and elsewhere, in other words that it would go shopping, consolidating a dominant position in the European market. Then, in Italy, there is the case of a major television company such as the RAI , financed with huge sums of taxpayers’ money, which competes in every way with other television companies as a commercial channel.

There are countless cases of the allocation of inappropriate market spaces to such companies. One example is Deutsche Post, which uses its monopolist’s profit in the postal services sector to overcome competition through take-overs too, as happened in the case of DHL International, which Deutsche Post acquired, exploiting its monopolist’s profit to knock a competitor out of the market. Not to mention EDF: France agreed to work towards opening up its energy sector within the country, in the sure knowledge that EDF, which was 100% state-owned and not quoted on the Stock Exchange and which could give loans guaranteed by the state, would acq ...[+++]uire companies abroad, in Italy and elsewhere, in other words that it would go shopping, consolidating a dominant position in the European market. Then, in Italy, there is the case of a major television company such as the RAI, financed with huge sums of taxpayers’ money, which competes in every way with other television companies as a commercial channel.

There is today a growing perception among enterprises that sustainable business success and shareholder value cannot be achieve solely through maximising short-term profits, but instead through market-oriented yet responsible behaviour.