Europe Protests Against Luxury Taxi Service Uber

Uber, a San Francisco startup, has been banned in Brussels and is under court scrutiny in Berlin. Milan's 5,000 taxi drivers are seeking similar curbs when representatives meet with Italy's transport minister Wednesday.

Alfonso Faccioli, one of the leaders of the wildcat protests, says Uber represents unfair competition to taxi drivers who pay at least 160,000 euros ($220,000) for a license. Drivers, he said, "are fighting to defend our livelihoods."

EU Commission vice president sees it otherwise. Neelie Kroes has expressed outrage at the Brussels court decision to ban Uber and impose 10,000-euro fines for offenders, saying it protects "a cartel."

Earlier in May, Uber was reportedly in talks to secure a new round of financing from private equity investors that may value the company at more than $10 billion. Uber's last round of financing pegged the fast-growing startup's value at $3.5 billion. The company pairs people looking for rides with drivers in major cities and is part of a crop of startups such as AirBnB now profiting off an expanding "sharing economy."

Uber, which is backed by investors including Benchmark Capital, TPG Capital and Google Ventures, was not immediately available for comment.

Written with agency inputs