In its recent judgment in Land Burgenland (Joined Cases C-214/12 P, C-215/12 P and C-223/12 P) the Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed that State aid granted to an undertaking in the past must not be taken into account in the context of the Market Economy Operator Principle to justify further subsidies, even if the prior aid was declared compatible with State aid rules. Public authorities and potential buyers will have to take this into account when privatising or buying publicly owned companies.

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