Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

LITHUANIA | DANGUOLĖ BUBLIENĖ AND IEVA NAVICKAITĖ-SAKALAUSKIENĖ 1013 formalisation of the travel organiser or vendor of linked tourist service arrangements activity. It is obvious that an insurance and financial guarantee model will not cover such a situation. 6. ISSUES RELATED TO SANCTIONS The Travel Directive established the requirement for the EU Member States to lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of national provisions, adopted according to the Travel Directive, and take all measures necessary to ensure their implementation. The penalties provided for have to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive (Article 25 of the Directive). This rule constitutes a standard rule for each consumer protection directive (e.g. the Unfair Commercial Practice Directive, the Consumer Credit Directive 57 , Directive on Consumer Rights all contain the same regulation) (‘sanction rule’). The Travel Directive, in principle, does not harmonise enforcement systems. However, the Travel Directive, like all others, regulates the criteria for the establishment of the penalties: the penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The EU Member States are, therefore, free to choose the enforcement mechanisms which best suit their legal tradition, as long as they ensure that effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties exist to prevent the infringement of the Travel Directive, with which they must comply. As usual, the ‘sanction rule’ means not only the necessity to ensure the sanction system according to private law provisions, but the sanctions according to the public law (economic sanctions) as well. This ‘sanction rule’, in respect of other directives in consumer protection area in Lithuanian legislation, is transposed in the Law on Consumer Rights Protection (with the exception of some area of consumer protection, e.g. the sanctions for the unfair commercial practices are provided in the separate law). The economic penalties (fines from 500 to 5.000 euros) were indicated in the law for the infringement of the various consumer protection requirements. However, by implementing the Travel Directive, the Law on Consumer Rights Protection was not amended accordingly. No sanctions were established in the Law on Tourism, except the sanction related to the suspension or revocation of the licence for the tour organiser or the activity of the travel retailer or vendor of 57 Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, 23 April 2008, on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC.