Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 386 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in February 2024 and provides metadata for each entry, such as geographical scope, year, type of initiative, actors involved, sector and companies concerned. Initiatives include legal instruments such as legislative changes or court decisions, as well as voluntary interventions undertaken by different stakeholders to address issues around platform work.
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The database currently contains 386 entries and was last updated in February 2024.
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Greece
In 2018, a new law was passed in Greece termed ‘Arrangements for transportation issues and other provisions’. It foresees among others that platforms offering taxi services operate as transport companies, which requires them to enter three-year contracts with licensed taxi drivers and to provide information on the exact terms of use of the services, the owners or drivers of the vehicles, vehicle registration certificates and special driving licenses for vehicle drivers. Most importantly, the new law tightens regulations in the taxi market, which had been liberalised before to allow tourist agencies to lease cars and drivers at will. The new law foresees severe fines in case platforms and drivers operate without the respective licenses issued by the Transport Ministry. The main aim is to address potential tax evasion by platforms businesses.
The new legislation was preceded by protests of taxi drivers, who opposed the practices of platforms such as Uber and Beat for unfair competition. Platform operators opposed the law after it was published and launched a petition in an attempt to undermine it.
The platform economy is one of those moving targets, which, despite receiving increasing media and policy attention, has proven difficult to regulate. Given the heterogeneity of employment relationships, business models, types of platform work and cross-border issues, this is not surprising.
Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the implications of the digital revolution for employment and work?
The rapid rise of the platform economy has led to a marked transformation of European labour markets, and existing regulatory frameworks and voluntary initiatives have yet to catch up. While platform work offers opportunities for workers and employers and potentially contributes to innovation, economic growth and competitiveness in the EU, it has been criticised from the beginning because of the poor employment and working conditions often experienced by workers.
While 2020 may come to be seen as the year platform work gathered pace and started to go mainstream – thanks in large part to COVID-19 containment measures sparking an increase in food and grocery delivery – 2021 could be the year that regulation of platform work is set in motion.
