EU states have a right to ban Uber

EU member states “may prohibit and punish the illegal exercise of a transport activity such as UberPop without having to notify the European Commission of the draft law,” Maciej Szpunar, an advocate general at the EU Court of Justice, said in a non-binding opinion. According to Szpunar, Uber is not just an app, and should be categorized as a transport service, regulated in a similar way to regular taxis. The EU court will decide whether France could fine Uber and two of its executives last year, under the amended law on taxis and chauffeur services which makes it a criminal offence to organize illegal taxi services and sets restrictions on the use of software connecting such drivers and passengers. Uber argued that the €850,000 fine was not valid because the law infringed EU rules under which limitations on digital services in the bloc require prior approval from Brussels. Since then Uber discontinued its UberPop service in France, and now only uses licensed drivers. “We have seen today's statement and await the final ruling later this year,” an Uber spokesperson said. The EU Court of Justice will make a final ruling later this year. However, they generally follow the advice of their advocates general.