Luxembourg, 12/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament has committed a mistake in considering that the contract it sealed in March 1999 with the co-operative firm Taxi 13 to carry MEPs complied with French legislation. The fifth chamber of the European Court of First Instance decided this in the Alsace International Car Service (AICS) case, of the name of a rival chauffeur-driven car company. Parliament will probably have to renege on its contract with Taxi 13 (even if, legally, it is not the contract that is annulled).
In March 1995, Parliament concluded a contract with the central association of taxis of the urban community of Strasbourg, ACATS Taxi 13. In 1998, the company was a subject of a prosecution for abuse of trust, clandestine work and illegal exercise of a road transport activity. Parliament and ACATS Taxi 13 decided to terminate the contract from 23 March 1999. A new entity, Cooperative Taxi 13 was created on 12 October 1998. It succeeded ACATS Taxi 13 to carry out the contract to its termination in March 1999.
On 27 January 1999, Parliament put out a tender for bids for the same services as those supplied to it by ACATS Taxi 13. On 31 March 1999, Parliament clinched a deal for the market with Taxi 13. In June 1999, AICS then appealed to the European Court of First Instance against Parliament. Its argument: its bid had been rejected to the benefit of taxi drivers subjected to a special regulation that prohibited them from tendering as they could not carry out trips in unmarked taxis. The European CFI rejected this appeal. AICS "appealed" to the European Court of Justice and again lost the case.
At the same time, AICS sent a letter to European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine. It attached a ruling of 7 April 2000 by the magistrates court in Strasbourg condemning 30 taxi drivers members of ACATS for the illegal exercise of a road transport activity without being registered on the register of carriers; and called on her to reconstruct the case. Nicole Fontaine's reply: the ruling concerns the taxi drivers of ACATS Taxi 13 which is a legally distinct entity from the cooperative Taxi 13. Through a letter dated 4 October 2000, Nicole Fontaine confirmed that according to Parliament, execution of the contract with Taxi 13 complied with French legislation, the French home affairs minister having confirmed her analysis
AICS attacked this letter before the European CFI. The latter has just replied: "one can but note that Parliament's assessment has been categorically invalidated by the clear terms of the ruling of the Magistrates Court in Strasbourg".
The European CFI does not, however, grant AICS compensation as, it says, there is nothing to prove that it would have secured the market for carrying MEPs.