Spain angers ride-hailing platforms and drivers with new regulation

By Inti Landauro

MADRID (Reuters) -The Spanish government on Tuesday angered the ride-hailing transport industry by allowing regions to restrict their activity despite a ruling by the European Union's top court that had overturned a set of local curbs in Barcelona.

Associations representing drivers working with app platforms operating in Spain, such as Uber, Bolt and local rival Cabify, said they would challenge the decision in Brussels and ask the European Commission to open legal proceedings against Spain.

"We regret the aim is again to impose limits on business activity and not the users' right to get a quality service," Bolt said in a statement.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved a decree allowing regional authorities to force drivers of private cars for hire to respect additional criteria to be able to operate in specific areas, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino told reporters.

The decree states that these criteria will have to be justified by reasons such as environmental protection, road safety or sustainability of "public interest services" such as regular taxis.

That last motive goes against a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union that struck down restrictions imposed in Barcelona, said Feneval and Unauto, two associations of drivers and fleet owners.

The ruling on June 8 said the Barcelona restrictions aimed at reducing the number of private cars transporting passengers hired through mobile platforms to protect the interests of taxi services violated EU laws as they discriminated between different service providers.

Spain's transport ministry said, however, the new regulation abides by the court ruling, and insisted the protection of taxis is in the general public interest.

The enforcement of the Barcelona restrictions late last year had pushed many self-employed drivers and fleet owners in Barcelona out of business and they welcomed the court ruling as a precedent that institutionalised them as legitimate public transport operators.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro, additional reporting by Belen Carreno; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Alison Williams and Ed Osmond)