COPENHAGEN: Danish prosecutors have filed charges against Uber’s European regional hub in the Netherlands with “helping to commit illegalities.”

The move comes after a Danish appeals court in November upheld a conviction against an Uber driver, saying he lacked a permit to drive as an occupation and his car was not registered or licensed as a taxi. He was fined 6,000 kroner ($856).

Chief prosecutor Vibeke Thorkil-Jensen said on Friday that the ruling established that Uber was an illegal transport service. She said that she now wants to have “the assessment of a court of law” on Uber’s broader activities. No date for a trial has been set.

She is filing the charges against Uber in Amster­dam, the Netherlands, because drivers in Denmark have contracts there. Uber has been banned in several countries and cities in Europe.

Speaking from Amster­dam, Uber spokesman Daniel Byrne welcomed “the opportunity to clarify our legal position to the prosecutor.”

He said Uber was “helping create opportunities for 2,000 drivers and their families in Copenhagen.”

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2016