Court of Justice 15 December 2022, C-50/21 (Prestige and Limousine, S.L. v Área Metropolitana de Barcelona and Others.)

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In this Opinion delivered on 15 December 2022 in Case C‑50/21 (Prestige and Limousine, S.L. v Área Metropolitana de Barcelona and Others), Advocate General Szpunar opines that Article 49 TFEU does not preclude a metropolitan authority from requiring private hire vehicle (PHV) operators already holding a national licence to obtain an additional local licence, provided that licence does not duplicate controls already carried out. However, the Advocate General opines that Article 49 TFEU does preclude limiting the number of PHV licences to a ratio of 1 for every 30 taxi licences, as the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona failed to demonstrate that such a quantitative restriction is suitable to attain the stated objectives of managing local transport, traffic, public space, and environmental protection in a coherent and systematic manner. The Opinion further holds that purely economic justifications—such as protecting the economic viability of the taxi sector—cannot constitute an overriding reason relating to the public interest capable of justifying a restriction on the freedom of establishment.AI