Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ARTICLE 17 | PATRICIA BENAVIDES VELASCO 385 issue: consumer or traveller; 3. Directive (EU) 2015/2392, on package travel and linked travel arrangements; III. Protection against the travel packages organisers’ insolvency; 1. Some remarks on the insolvency of tourist operators; 2. Effectiveness and approach of the protection against travel packages organisers’ insolvency; 3. The duty to provide insurance in case of the organiser’s insolvency under the Spanish regulation; 4. Doubts about the moment in which the insurance provided for the travel packages organisers’ insolvency must be activated; IV. Bibliography. I. INTRODUCTION Article 17 is included within Chapter V of the Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015, on package travel and linked travel arrangements, amending Regulation (EC) Number 2006/2004 and Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 90/314/EEC 3 , featuring the header “Insolvency protection”. This chapter is developed in two articles devoted to regulating the effectiveness and scope of insolvency protection and the mutual recognition of insolvency protection and administrative cooperation. In these pages we consider the first one. It is widely known that consumer protection is one of the most relevant concerns of the European Union authorities, as was stated by the Multiannual programme on consumer protection of the European Union for the period between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2020 4 . The reason for such an interest is to be found in the fact that in an efficient economy, as the Union’s should be, consumers must enjoy some guarantees that provide them a high level of legal protection. This goal is achieved by means of a harmonized regulation on consumers in the single market to protect such subjects. This protection is even more necessary when consumers acquire goods or services in other countries of the European Union, which differ from the ones on their place of residence or address. 3 Published in the European Union Official Journal series L, no. 326, 11 December 2015. 4 This programme follows the main goal to help citizens to fully enjoy their rights as consumers and to support the growth, innovation and goals of Europe 2020, so as its intervention in the single market. See, Regulation (EU) no. 254/2014, of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on a multiannual consumer programme for the years 2014-2020 and repealing Decision No 1926/2006/EC, Official Journal, Series L, no. 84, 20 March 2014, that provides the legal basis for the execution of the Programme and the development of the actions included in it.