European taxi drivers protest against Uber in Brussels

BRUSSELS (AA) – Several hundreds of taxi drivers from across Europe blocked on Thursday the main roads of the Belgian capital Brussels to protest against loose regulation on Uber.

Following the call of European taxi associations, drivers from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Greece joined their Belgian colleagues to demand stronger regulation on the alternative car service provider company Uber and proper investigation of the recently revealed Uber Files.

The manifestation started at Brussels’s North Railway Station, from where the protesters left in the direction of Schuman Square hosting the European institutions.

The drivers, honking and randomly stopping, caused serious traffic disruptions on the main roads of the EU capital.

Based on a smartphone application, Uber provides a seriously cheaper competition to traditional taxi services, while its drivers are not bound by the same taxation and business rules.

In July, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 42 media outlets published the so-called Uber Files.

The leak revealed company’s strong lobbying activities at governments between 2013 and 2017 in 40 countries.