The document discusses several topics: 1) The proposed EU Agency Workers Directive which would give agency workers the same rights as permanent employees after 6 weeks. This could result in many UK agency jobs being lost due to reduced flexibility. 2) The UK government's financial rescue of Northern Rock which required EU state aid approval. The Commission has taken a tough stance on state aid in the past. 3) EU competition law which prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of a dominant market position. State aid is also restricted under EU rules.