Brussels, 15/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - As already announced by EUROPE, the Commission has ordered the recovery of EUR 7.83 million in aid from Neue Erba Lautex GmbH (NEL) and its parent company, the bankrupt Erba Lautex GmbH, judging that this aid had kept the two entities artificially afloat. In July 1999, the Commission had already ruled EUR 61.36 million in aid, as incompatible as it did not meet the conditions laid down by the guidelines for safeguard aid for restructuring. Nonetheless, instead of recovering the incompatible aid, Germany supported the creation of a new subsidiary to the bankrupt company and kept the two companies alive with new aid. On 25 July 2001, the Commission decided to begin an investigation into this new aid and take Germany to the European Court of Justice for non-execution of its decision (see EUROPE 28 July 2001 page 11). The Commission again ruled against the company, given that NEL was not a new company but part of a single group, along with its parent company Erba Lautex. The new aid, together with that already granted and which had not been recovered, exacerbated the distortion to competitive practices.