Spain: Uber case referred to the European Court of Justice

After a particularly heated period for upstart transportation business Uber in Europe, Uber is going on the regulatory offensive. Today the company’s head of public policy in EMEA, Mark MacGann, announced that an ongoing case against it in Spain has been referred to the European Courts of Justice.

First, it will take the case out of local hands and potentially give the company a result that is more in keeping with the EU’s bigger position on tech development and its bigger ambitions for a more digital society.

Second, it will mean that an EU decision will supersede any attempts by more local regulators to ban Uber and related companies. Indeed, the European Commission is already considering proposals for how to regulate ride sharing services like Uber on a European rather than local level.

“We welcome the decision to investigate… The decisions in the EU rarely have the effect of closing markets,” MacGann said in a press conference today.

This is not the only European-led advance Uber has seen of late. Last week, the FT reported that Germany is facing a European Commission probe over its Uber bans, and an EC investigation against France’s Thévenoud Law is already underway.

Full content: The Financial Times

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