44 Package and assisted travel arrangements
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny
|
| Document details | (a) Commission Communication: Bringing the EU package travel rules into the digital age
(b) Draft Directive on package travel and assisted travel arrangements
|
| Legal base | Articles 114 and 169 TFEU; Ordinary legislative procedure; QMV
|
| Department | Business, Innovation and Skills
|
| Document numbers | (a) (35257), —, COM(13) 513
(b) (35192), 12257/13 + ADDs 1-3, COM(13) 512
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
44.1 Council Directive 90/314/EEC created important rights for
those purchasing package holidays, but the Commission pointed
out that the structure of the travel market was much simpler in
1990; that it had become unclear to what extent modern travel
services were covered; and that there were significant differences
in transposition by Member States, leading to an uneven regulatory
environment and to constraints on cross-border trading. It therefore
put forward in July 2013 a proposal for a new Directive to clarify
and modernise the protection available for different forms of
travel; to ensure that purchasers are better informed; and to
remove some outdated elements.
44.2 Our predecessors' Report of 9 October 2013 set
out the content of the proposal in some detail, and noted that,
although the Government was generally supportive of the Commission's
overall objectives, it did nevertheless have some concerns. In
view of this, the Committee held the two documents under scrutiny,
pending further information, and was followed by a further Report
on 26 November 2014, which described the progress which had subsequently
been made in the main areas of concern. It also said that, although
that Committee did not agree that scrutiny should be lifted, it
was willing to grant a waiver so as to enable the Government to
vote for the proposal at the forthcoming Competitiveness Council,
when a general approach, allowing progress to the trilogue stage
of negotiation, was expected to be agreed.
44.3 Since then, there have been a number of further
updates, and we have now been told that the European Parliament
has agreed a position similar to the general approach reached
by the Council, which the Government believes strikes the right
balance between the benefits of extended consumer protection and
the additional burdens imposed on business.
44.4 This is a complicated and detailed proposal
dealing with a complex area of activity, and its contents and
their implications were set out at some length by our predecessors
in their Reports of 9 October 2013 and 26 November 2014. Our own
involvement has very much coincided with the end game in Brussels,
and we note that the Council and European Parliament have reached
an agreement on the scope of the measure regarded by the Government
as striking the right balance. In view of this, we see no need
to hold these documents under scrutiny, and we are therefore clearing
them.
Full
details of the documents:
(a) Commission Communication: Bringing the EU package travel
rules into the digital age: (35257), —, COM(13) 513;
(b) Draft Directive on package travel and assisted travel arrangements,
amending Regulation (EU) No. 206/2004, Directive 2011/83/EU and
repealing Council Directive 90/314/EEC: (35192), 12257/13, COM(13)
512.
Background
44.5 Council Directive 90/314/EEC created important
rights for those purchasing package holidays, ensuring that they
receive essential information, making organisers and/or retailers
responsible for the package, and regulating what happens if there
are changes to the content. It also ensures that travellers receive
a refund of pre-payments, and are repatriated in the event of
the insolvency of an organiser and/or retailer.
44.6 However, the Commission pointed out (document
(a)) that the structure of the travel market was much simpler
in 1990, and that it had become unclear to what extent modern
travel services were covered by the Directive. It also noted significant
differences in its transposition by Member States, and that this
had led to an uneven regulatory environment and had placed constraints
on cross-border trading.
44.7 It therefore put forward in July 2013 the draft
Directive at document (b) to clarify and modernise the protection
available to travellers; to cover different types of arrangement;
to ensure that purchasers are better informed about the services
and remedies available; and to remove some outdated elements from
the present Directive, whilst maintaining its essential characteristics.
The detailed contents were set out at some length in the first
Report produced by our predecessors on 9 October 2013, which also
noted that the UK is one of the main markets for leisure travel
and holiday arrangements, but that the Government believed action
at EU level was needed to enable consumers to shop across borders,
and to provide the required degree of legislative certainty. Consequently,
although the Government had a number of detailed concerns, and
would wish to consult stakeholders, it was generally supportive
of the Commission's overall objectives.
44.8 Our predecessors next reported to the House
on 26 November 2014, when they noted that the Government had provided
an update on how the negotiations has progressed in the areas
which had been identified as most in need of improvement, and
that it believed significant progress has been achieved in all
but two areas, thus addressing most of the UK's main concerns.
In view of this, it asked if scrutiny could be lifted (or a waiver
provided) in order to enable the UK to support the proposal at
the Competitiveness Council on 3-4 December, when the Italian
Presidency would be attempting to agree a general approach.
44.9 Our predecessors said that, given the impact
of the package on both business and consumers, they hesitated
to release the documents from scrutiny, but, as they had no wish
to constrain the Government's negotiating position, they were
willing to grant a waiver. They also asked the Government to keep
them informed, and subsequently received updates on 14 December
2014 and 26 February 2015, the last of these indicating that,
although there were still certain differences between the positions
of the Council and the European Parliament, a satisfactory conclusion
to the trilogue phase was expected by the end of May.
Minister's letter of 15 June 2015
44.10 We have now received a letter of 15 June 2015
from the Minister of State for Skills at the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills (Nick Boles), confirming that the European
Parliament has now agreed a position on the scope of the measure
similar to that in the Council's general approach, which the Government
believes strikes the right balance between the benefits of extended
consumer protection and the additional burdens imposed on business.
Previous Committee Reports
Seventeenth Report HC 83-xvi (2013-14), chapter 4
(9 October 2013) and Twenty-second Report HC 219-xxi (2014-15),
chapter 2 (26 November 2014).
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