Uber case on hold over Le Pen fears

Fearing populist backlash, Commission chief overrules colleagues to pause infringement case against France.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s team is holding back a legal case against France over its treatment of Uber at least until after the country’s elections next year, according to two people briefed on the case.

The American ride-hailing company’s complaint was last week left off the Commission’s monthly list of actions against countries that violate the European Union’s laws. Uber’s Chief Executive Travis Kalanick had visited Brussels earlier this month to lobby officials, and Internal Market Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska last week said there was no legal reason the case could not proceed.

Juncker’s decision to overrule at least four Commissioners and hold off on the case reflects his concerns about the growing appeal of populist parties in the EU, the people briefed on the case said. Uber is a symbol of globalization and a lightning rod for irate incumbent taxi companies, particularly in France. The National Front of Marine Le Pen, which pushes an anti-globalization and anti-EU agenda, is polling strongly ahead of May’s presidential election.

A Commission spokeswoman said the EU’s executive arm “decides on infringements cases based on their merits and legal complexity, not for political reasons. There are no deadlines for assessing complaints.”

The paperwork for the case has been ready since the summer, according to three people at the Commission with first-hand knowledge. Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, whose legal team drafted the case; Commissioner Bieńkowska and Vice Presidents Jyrki Katainen and Andrus Ansip, all supported moving forward with the case, according to multiple sources with first-hand knowledge.

Rather than reject Uber’s complaint, a senior Commission official said Juncker’s team is employing “the black box technique, where something goes into the president’s cabinet and it disappears.”

In 2014, France barred private-hire vehicles like Uber’s from using certain digital tools to match riders with drivers, and the country now requires private-hire drivers — other than licensed taxis — to return to a base after every ride. The company has been the subject of mass protests by taxi drivers complaining about Uber’s arrival in the French market. Two French executives were arrested in June of 2015 over enabling illegal taxi services, among other charges, and the company’s Paris offices were raided. In February, the two executives were banned from running a company for five years and each faced fines of €50,000 and €70,000 respectively.

Uber’s complaints from 2014 and 2015 say France’s actions constitute a violation of several EU laws, including the E-Commerce Directive and the Services Directive.

Senior Uber lobbyists met with Juncker’s Chief of Staff Martin Selmayr and his Senior Legal Adviser Michael Shotter on November 8, according to the Commission’s meeting register.

During the gathering, Selmayr told the company’s lobbyists, including Agata Wacławik-Wejman, that the Commission would not launch legal action against France based on Uber’s complaint for an indefinite amount of time, according to two people briefed on the meeting.

“Obviously we try to handle complaints as fast as possible,” adding that the Commission is “engaged in dialogue with the relevant authorities to clarify the merits of the complaints,” Commission spokeswoman Lucia Caudet said.

After Commission Vice President Ansip met with Uber’s Kalanick on November 15, he tweeted: “Just saw @travisk again — but issues stay same: we need more progress in workable @Uber / gov’t cooperation and less unnecessary pushback.”

“The meetings are a matter of public record,” said Gareth Mead, a spokesman for Uber. “Across Europe there is significant and growing recognition of the value that companies like Uber can offer the citizens of the EU and the cities in which we live.”

The Commission is also watching a parallel case between Uber and Spain before the European Court of Justice. The court is expected to rule on whether Uber should be classified as a transportation service or a passive digital intermediary. That case likely won’t be resolved until well into 2017.

Uber also complained to the Commission last year about laws restricting its freedom to operate in Spain and Germany, and filed a complaint against Hungary in 2016.

None of them has moved forward.

Nicholas Hirst and Nicholas Vinocur contributed reporting.

Click Here: Cardiff Blues Store