Turn of events in the VTC conflict. The Supreme Court has decided to withdraw its questions to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJUE) on the legality of the restrictions on VTC in Spain. He assumes the latest pronouncement from a case in Catalonia, in which he was knocked down but allowed the implementation of a second urban license such as the one that various autonomous communities have demanded based on the ‘Ábalos decree’. This could expedite the terms of the final judgment of the High Court.
In an order communicated this Wednesday to the parties, consulted by La Información, the Contentious Chamber of the Supreme Court assures that in view of the sentence handed down last June it agrees not to maintain the questions formulated in the prejudicial matter raised. “The issues can be resolved based on the doctrine set forth in the aforementioned sentence,” he concludes.
On June 21, the Supreme Court moved the CJEU ruling to the parties in the process and asked if the issues raised would not be stabilized. The representation of the National Taxi Association (Antaxi) and the Taxi Project 2.0 association agreed in their respective writings that they should stabilize the first and second issues of the ‘appeal’ to the European court. From Taxi Project, they insisted on their allegations that the analysis of the Luxembourg court started “at all times from a factual and legal photograph, undoubtedly partial and incomplete” of the regulatory situation in Spain.
The procedural representation of Cabify, which is another of the parties, presented a brief in which it stated that the resolution of the harmful issue raised by the Supreme Court proceeded, understanding that the questions answered in the CJEU ruling corresponded to a regulation of the Area Metropolitan of Barcelona and not on the Transport Law. In addition, he understood that the decree law approved a couple of weeks ago by the Government of Spain made it even more necessary, if possible, for an express resolution of the European court.
All the parties have taken the opportunity to raise their views on both the decree law and the previous ruling of the CJUE in their allegations. Taxi Project believes that the European court “superficially” examined a question that for the Supreme Court itself was key: whether it is possible to start from a premise that it is a legitimate option for the public powers to adopt legislative measures with the objective of ” ensure the maintenance of a certain urban transport service, such as the taxi, in guarantee of quality objectives, user protection, transport policy and environmental policy”.
