APPENDIX 2: CALL FOR EVIDENCE
EU Sub-Committee G (Social Policy and Consumer Affairs)
is conducting an Inquiry into the issues raised by the European
Commission's proposed replacement of the Timeshare Directive.
The Commission's Proposal for a Directive concerning the protection
of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term
holiday products, resale and exchange was published on 7 June
2007. The relevant Commission document COM(2007) 303 final and
other pertinent documentation are accessible on the Commission
website at:
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/timeshare/index_en.htm
The Commission indicates that a replacement is necessary
because of a number of flaws uncovered when reviewing the current
Directive[30].
The Proposal seeks to: expand the scope of the directive
to cover new products such as discount holiday clubs and "timeshare-like"
holidays on cruise ships and canal boats; extend the Directive
to include timeshare resale; and clarify aspects of the existing
Directive.
The purpose of the Committee's Inquiry is to assess
the need for a new Directive, analyse the content of the proposed
text and draw conclusions that will be linked into the EU's decision
making process.
Issues
Against this background, the Committee hereby invites
you to submit written evidence to the Inquiry. The Committee would
find it helpful if, in addition to any general issues you may
wish to raise, you would focus on a number of specific issues.
It is recognised that those submitting evidence will not necessarily
have an interest in all the questions and may therefore wish to
be selective. The issues are:
Overview
With regard to measures intended to safeguard timeshare
consumers, what is the rationale for binding legislation rather
than a voluntary agreement?
In this policy area, what do you consider to be the
respective roles of EC law and national law?
What has been your experience of the existing Directive?
What, in your view, are its strengths and weaknesses?
Scope and Definitions
What is your view of the scope and definitions contained
in the draft Proposal (Articles 1 and 2)? Might they be expanded,
clarified or reduced? If so, how might this be achieved?
Information Provision
On the basis of your own experience, what is your
assessment of the proposals relating to information provision
and advertising (Article 3 and Annexes)?
How can consumers generally be best informed by national
governments or other bodies about their rights in relation to
this Directive (Article 10(1))?
The Right of Withdrawal
How satisfactory, from the consumer's perspective,
are the provisions on the right of withdrawal (Article 4(3) and
Article 5)?
One of the aims of the provisions is to establish
a more consistent regime across Member States. To what extent
is this achieved, particularly given the flexibility enshrined
within Article 1(2) which allows Member States to apply more stringent
national provisions relating to aspects of the right of withdrawal?
Advance Payments
How can consumers best be protected from any demand
to make advance payments before the end of the period during which
the consumer may exercise the right of withdrawal (Article 6(1))?
How significant a problem for consumers have advance
payments been in the resale market (Article 6(2))?
Redress
What are your views on the provisions relating to
judicial, administration and out-of court redress (Article 9 and
Article 10(2))?
Sanctions, Monitoring and Enforcement
The proposed Directive expands the current requirement
for penalties against infringements of the legislation (Article
11). What is your view on the level of sanctions imposed by Member
States for infringements of the current Directive, and on the
efficacy of monitoring and enforcement across the EU?
With particular relation to enforcement, do you consider
that the relationship between the proposed new Directive and the
provisions of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive[31]
is sufficiently clear?
Outstanding issues
Are there any significant issues in the timeshare
market that the proposed new Directive has failed to address?
We also would welcome views on any other aspect of
the Commission's Proposal.
Interested parties are invited to submit a concise
statement of written evidence to this Inquiry by Friday, 14 September
2007. Guidance for the submission of evidence is set out on the
following page
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31
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