CONSUMER PROTECTION

EU Revision of the Community Acquis on Consumer Protection

In October 2004 the European Commission advised it was planning to re-examine eight directives on consumer protection to establish whether they offered consumers a high level of protection; to eliminate intra-Community barriers; and to simplify the regulation, in particular the harmonisation clauses they contain.  The eight directives are:

Directive 90/314 on package travel
Directive 94/476 on time sharing
Directive 97/7 on distance selling
Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in consumer contracts
Directive 98/6 on price indications
Directive 85/557 on doorstep selling
Directive 99/44 on sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees
Directive 98/27 on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests 

DG Sanco is expected to publish proposals on the Acquis with priority being given to price indications, distance selling and time sharing. The Commission has issued a Green Paper on the review and a consultation document in July 2007.

ABTA's Position

ECTAA’s Legal Committee (on which ABTA serves) has focused its work on preparing a position on future revision of the Package Travel Directive (PTD). The position aims to present a new approach to the issues of regulation and protection of travel services to take account of the changes in the market over the past 10 years. ABTA is strongly advocating a completely fresh approach to the regulation of the industry and the provision of protection to consumers.

Last updated: 8 April 2008