Mark MacGann, the former Uber executive who leaked sensitive information about the company's lobbying practices, has been called before a Brussels parliamentary committee on 15 February. The committee's members will seek to clarify MacGann's "close" relationship with the region's Mobility Minister Pascal Smet.
Committee chairwoman Cieltje Van Achter confirmed the date of MacGann's planned testimony on Thursday. The hearing will seek to ascertain the content and intention of contact between the Brussels Mobility Minister Pascal Smet and the lobbyist. Uber has been the subject of an intense debate between lawmakers and established taxi services, who have been angered by the tech giant's model that they see as an existential challenge to their livelihood.
Uber has been known to follow an aggressive lobbying policy as it seeks to expand worldwide. Now Brussels wants to know how much the company tried to gain influence with its own regional regulators. Smet's proposed taxi plan in 2015 is of particular interest to the capital's authorities.
As Mobility Minister, Smet made a considerable effort to reform the capital's taxi laws. Part of his proposal would have seen Brussels become the first European city to legalise the use of Ubers, despite Smet's prior public criticism of the company.
Seven years later, leaked messages between the minister and the lobbyist showed that Smet was actively working with the multinational to further exempt their company from...
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