Top EU court : Members can ban taxi services like UberPop

LUXEMBOURG – The European Union’s top court has ruled that member states can ban taxi services like UberPop without prior notification to the Commission.

The ruling came after France banned the UberPop service, which allowed drivers without a taxi license to pick up passengers, in 2014 to avoid unfair competition. A court in the French city of Lille then asked the European Court of Justice whether French authorities should have notified the Commission before passing the law.

The court said in a statement Tuesday that member states “may prohibit and punish the illegal exercise of a transport activity such as UberPop without having to notify the Commission in advance of” any laws penalizing such services.

It’s another blow for Uber after the ECJ ruled it should be regulated like a taxi company.