15/03/2017 (Agence Europe) – Does EU law run counter to the Belgian rule banning taxi operators from grouping passengers together in the same vehicle, predetermining their destination or soliciting customers? 'No', the Court of Justice of the EU replied on Wednesday 15 March, having looked at the situation of shuttle operators between Brussels-Midi railway station and the Brussels South airport at Charleroi (case C-253/16). Coach companies operating on this route could therefore legitimately complain at the touting of customers planning to take the coach shuttle by operators of “minibus-type taxis”. Article 96 TFEU, which states that in the field of transport operated within the EU, member states may not lay down prices and conditions with the aim of supporting or protecting certain businesses, does not apply in this scenario, the Court concluded. (JK)