Uber paused its planned food delivery launches in five of the seven European countries it targeted for expansion in 2026, including Austria, Norway, and Greece, according to reports on July 5, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Earlier this year in February, Uber announced plans to expand food delivery services into seven new European markets: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Romania [3].
The company recently launched food delivery in Finland and Denmark, which it described as a "huge success," stating it planned to focus on continuing momentum in these existing markets [2, 3]. Uber expected that the 2026 European expansion would add about $1 billion in gross bookings over three years [2].
Uber is currently pursuing an acquisition of Delivery Hero, a major European food delivery platform. Delivery Hero rejected Uber’s €10 billion (about $10.7 billion) takeover bid in May 2026 [2, 3]. Despite the rejection, Uber increased its stake in Delivery Hero from 25% to nearly 37% by purchasing shares from Aspex Management and offered €33 per Delivery Hero share [2].
Industry watchers suggest Uber’s decision to pause the majority of its planned European food delivery expansion may be aimed at addressing antitrust concerns tied to its potential acquisition of Delivery Hero [3].
The pause leaves Uber continuing its food delivery rollout only in Denmark and Finland, where it aims to capitalize on earlier positive results [2]. The company has not announced new timelines for resuming launches in the five paused countries.
Uber's next key moment will be ongoing negotiations with Delivery Hero and regulatory review as it works to finalize its ownership stake and any possible acquisition.
