Brussels, 29/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 29 January, the European Commission decided that Germany should recover public aid (an SME bonus) paid to Sovello AG (formerly EverQ GmbH), a German solar panel manufacturer. The Commission concluded that Sovello was not entitled to this bonus (a form of aid authorised in June 2006) because the company did not satisfy the criteria on aid to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) (Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC). In 2008, the Commission opened a new investigation on the basis of additional information suggesting that the earlier decision to qualify Sovello AG as an SME had been based on incorrect information. The Commission has now concluded that Sovello kept the participation of one of its joint venture partners artificially below 25%, while its influence in Sovello was considerably greater than such a shareholding would suggest, and so in practice did not meet the SME thresholds of EU state aid rules. The aid received in the form of an SME bonus is therefore incompatible with EU state aid rules. The Commission has therefore revoked its 2006 decision and ordered Germany to recover the SME bonus from Sovello. (L.C./transl.rt)