Judge rules Uber is operating illegally in Brussels

A Brussels court ruling that Uber is operating illegally "has no immediate impact on our business", the ride-booking platform has claimed.

A judge in the Dutch-language branch of Brussels commercial court has upheld a ruling from September 2015, confirming that drivers must hold a valid taxi licence to accept paid rides.

The original 2015 ruling led to Uber banning its UberPop service in the Belgian capital - which saw unlicensed members of the public give rides in their own cars.

This latest judgment applies to all of Uber's services, including UberX, which uses licensed limousine drivers. The ride-sharing service faces a fine of €10,000 per infringement, capped at €1 million.

Sam Bouchal, secretary-general of the Belgian Federation of Taxis, welcomed the ruling: "The judge recognises that Uber is a taxi service, which we have been saying from the beginning."

He added: "The €10,000 penalty is ridiculous compared the size of this American company. That's why we have started another action before the French-speaking commercial court of Brussels, asking for a penalty of €1 million per offence."

In a statement, Uber said it was unfortunate that the judge failed to make the distinction between UberPop and the professional UberX service.

"The ruling does not have an immediate impact on our business," the company said, describing the judge's ruling as "informative" rather than "decisive".

Fernando Redondo, president of the Association of Limousine Chauffeurs, said: "We do everything by the book - we pay for everything. More than 1,000 families' livelihoods are in danger if this ruling takes effect."

One driver added: "There are hundreds of drivers who have come out of unemployment and have invested tens of thousands of euros to buy a car and start this job, so we will not stop overnight."