The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Wednesday that Uber, the operator of the ride-sharing app, is a transportation firm and not a digital company.
CNBC points out that the decision means that Uber faces national regulation in up to 28 member states. For instance, the ride-sharing market in Romania is not regulated in any way at this moment. Uber Romania said on numerous occasions that it was ready to work with authorities on specific legislation in this field.
“In most EU countries we operate under the transport law or we are in the regulation process, so this decision doesn’t impact the state of affairs. However, still, millions of Europeans are barred from using apps similar to ours,” said an Uber spokesperson, adding that the company will continue to talk with EU authorities to regulate this service.
Uber has been launched in the EU 5 years ago. In Romania, the company operates in four cities and has over 450,000 users.