Uber has been facing legal attacks in pretty much every country that it has launched in, but Europe has been especially hard on the American startup. The overwhelming number of bans, armed raids, and even attacks may have dissuaded a lesser company, but Uber is not on;y continuing with its European expansion, its actually going on the legal offensive by claiming that the countries that banned its devices broke European Union law.
It’s fair to say there’s been more than a few bumps in the road for Uber’s European operation. With bans imposed in Germany, France, and Spain, offices raided by armed cops in Paris, and drivers coming under attack from taxi drivers in Amsterdam and Brussels, a lesser company would’ve probably slammed on the brakes by now. But not Uber. Determined that its ride-sharing service will succeed in Europe, the San Francisco-based company has in recent weeks filed complaints against three governments – Germany, France, and this week, Spain – claiming that each one has broken European Union (EU) laws by imposing bans on its service. The company says EU policies should dictate whether its services can operate, not individual countries. “This is supposed to be a single market,” Uber’s Mark McGann told the Wall Street Journal this week, adding, “What we’re finding is that we’re getting treated in completely different ways in different countries, and even within individual countries.”
