65. Stresses the role that corporate social responsibility plays by adhering to high environmental and social and labour standards abroad and applying best available technologies; believes these should be promoted through relevant fora such as the G8, G20, WTO, OECD, UNCTAD, UNEP and its International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, the international metals study groups and other bodies; applauds, in this context, positive contributions through the UN's Global Compact; calls on EU companies to develop an appropriate code of conduct for those operating in third countries and to base their activities on the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and ISO 2 ...[+++]6000; calls on the Commission to take measures which ensure compliance with social, environmental and labour standards by European companies mining natural resources in third countries; calls on the Commission to come forward with a proposal of its own on country-by-country reporting concerning conflict minerals and to establish legally binding requirements for extractive companies to publish their revenue payments for each project and country they invest in, following the example of the US Dodd-Frank bill; supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the global network Publish What You Pay (PWYP); believes that these standards should, in particular, be applied to projects receiving EU funding, for example from the EIB; urges the EU to investigate how the importing of illegally traded or extracted minerals can be prevented; asks the Commission to investigate whether ‘fingerprinting’ technology could be used in this context and to promote pilot projects based on the experiences of the ‘coltan fingerprint’; calls on the EIB to undertake a regular analysis of the expected impacts of its lending in the extractive industry;

- credit guarantees to support innovative business plans to help develop spin-offs;

Firstly, last January we introduced more frequent decision-making in infringement proceedings with the aim of speeding up cases; secondly, we launched the ‘EU Pilot’ project in 15 Member States last April to test a new method aimed at improving problem solving and the availability of information; thirdly, the main purpose of this initiative, which is close to Parliament’s interests, is to better serve the interests of citizens and businesses with regard to questions and problems identified in the application of Community law, including infringements of this law; fourthly, the Commission will nonetheless continue to decide to prosecute ...[+++] infringements in the event of non-conformance within the framework of the ‘EU Pilot’ project, particularly through infringement proceedings; and fifthly, President Barroso has written to the chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, Mr Gargani, with details of the pilot project’s performance in December 2008.

Achievement of these objectives will be based on the "single market ambassadors" pilot project (prominent persons in business and trade), a "one-stop shop" for the various services available to citizens and businesses (Europe Direct, Your Europe, SOLVIT, Citizens' Signpost Service, EURES, the new integrated business support network, etc.), as well as a Single Market Scoreboard adapted to allow better evaluation of performance.

42. Welcomes direct financial support from the Commission for CSR initiatives, in particular to encourage innovation, to enable stakeholder involvement and to assist potential victims' groups in relation to alleged malpractice including corporate manslaughter; encourages the Commission to develop, in particular, mechanisms that ensure that communities affected by European companies are entitled to a fair and accessible process of justice; underlines the importance of the EU-budget line B3-4000 (item 04 03 03 01) for pilot projects such as those involving employee community engagement, hypothecated funds to support CSR within the CIP, a ...[+++]nd for 3 % of social sciences and humanities research to be devoted to business in society under the Seventh Research Framework Programme; calls for far greater efforts to be made by the Commission to support CSR in relation to EU companies operating in third countries through its external assistance programmes;

Support for schools: schools should be given practical support and incentives to incorporate entrepreneurship in their curricula, through a range of different instruments (distribution of teaching materials, funding of pilot projects, dissemination of best practice, promotion of partnerships with businesses, support for dedicated organisations conducting entrepreneurship programmes with schools, etc.).