Uber suffers setback in EU after court backs French law

UBER Technologies, Inc. suffered another setback in the European Union (EU) after an adviser to the bloc’s top court backed a French law that led to sanctions for top managers in the country.

EU nations “may prohibit and punish the illegal exercise of a transport activity such as UberPop without having to notify the” European Commission of the draft law, Maciej Szpunar, an advocate general at the EU Court of Justice, said in a non-binding opinion delivered on Tuesday.

Mr. Szpunar rejected Uber’s claims that the rules were invalid because France didn’t notify the EU in advance about the measures, saying in this case such a notification was “unnecessary.”

The legal wrangling adds to the turmoil at Uber, which last month led to the resignation of Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick. Szpunar already dealt a blow to the troubled company’s fight with authorities in May, saying in a separate case that Uber is more than just an app, and should also be categorized as a transport service, regulated in a similar way to regular taxis.

In Tuesday’s case, the EU court is being asked to give guidance on the legality of changes made to a 2014 French law, which Uber says is targeting apps such as UberPop. The controversial service, no longer offered in the country, let unlicensed drivers use their own car to pick up riders for low fees.

The French court asked whether the nation’s failure to flag the rule changes to the EU, a technical requirement for many laws, made it invalid.

Uber in a statement said it will wait for the final ruling “later this year.” —