Uber has been ordered to cease providing its foremost ride-hailing service within the Belgian capital of Brussels from Friday night.

The Brussels Attraction Courtroom dominated on Wednesday {that a} 2015 ban on non-public people providing taxi companies additionally applies to skilled drivers.

“From this Friday, you will not be capable of get an Uber journey within the EU capital,” Uber wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “We’re disenchanted with at present’s court docket resolution to shut our Brussels app.”

Uber stated the choice goes towards the European Fee’s digital and inexperienced ambitions. The European Fee is the manager arm of the European Union.

Uber has been combating authorized battles throughout Europe over the way it employs drivers and complies with taxi rules. It says drivers like the flexibleness of being self-employed however some drivers say they wrestle to earn sufficient cash via the app whereas additionally lacking out on worker advantages like sick pay and annual depart.

Uber has been urging individuals to signal a petition to avoid wasting the two,000 skilled drivers who use Uber within the metropolis.

Niklas Oestberg, co-founder and CEO of meals supply app Supply Hero, additionally criticized the choice.

“Europe’s anti-tech stances is simply hurting our personal tech progress,” he wrote on Twitter. “Uber disrupted the taxi trade 10 years in the past and we nonetheless haven’t got a greater resolution than this?”

Indignant drivers blocked the principle avenue main from the European establishments to the middle of Brussels in protest on Thursday and the Brussels mobility authority suggested drivers to keep away from touring via town.

The Brussels authorities agreed Thursday on a proposal to reform the area’s taxi and personal automotive trade. The authorities stated they might “actively search for a short lived resolution” for Uber though one has but to be formally introduced.

Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort wrote on Twitter that the settlement “should assure a top quality service that’s tailored to the brand new habits of consumers and customers.”

The court docket additionally fined Uber 300,000 euros ($336,000), in response to Bloomberg. It reportedly advised two of the corporate’s models to pay 150,000 euros every because it backed a criticism by Taxis Verts, a Brussels taxi agency.

Whereas London is Uber’s largest market in Europe, Brussels is a serious metropolis with many enterprise delegates and politicians touring to town frequently.