Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

386 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, henceforth TFEU, provides a legal basis for the harmonization measures whose aim is the establishment of an internal market and emphasizes the goal of guaranteeing a high level of protection for consumers. More specifically, article 169 of the TFEU sets the general actions to protect consumer’s security and economic interests, such as the promotion of the right to be informed and the possibility to organize in order to safeguard their interests. The constant activity of the European Union to guarantee the rights of consumers has led to the establishment of the notion of Consumer’s Law in most of the member States. This concept includes a set of regulations identified by their protective nature, that have as their main goal to overcome the imbalance between business and consumers, protecting the latter against the interests of companies that professionally perform their activity in the market. Europe has the stricter rules on consumer protection in theWorld. It is a fact that an enhanced enforcement of such rules, by implementing more effective tools to claim for damages and accomplishing a broader knowledge of consumer rights, will improve the consumers’ confidence. The general economy will also benefit from this, considering the relevance of consumption expenditure within the EU, which undoubtedly will entail the possibility of keeping a sustainable economic model. To deal with these challenges and continue to keep a fair single market going forward, the European Commission has presented its Communication “A new deal for consumers” 5 . This new document is based on the current framework on consumer policy, although it proposed more modern and appropriate rules considering the constant evolution of current markets and commercial practices, becoming more effective enforcement tools, both on a public and private scope. New proposals were also provided to improve the claims of consumers in cases of infringements and applying a more effective enforcement of the current rules. This new framework for consumers also seeks to reinforce the cooperation between partner countries outside the European Union to guarantee equal treatment for consumers, improve communication and the build capacity, with the goal of giving consumers a broader knowledge of their rights and to help small businesses to easily comply with their duties 6 . 5 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee, “A New Deal for Consumers”, Document COM (2018) 183 final, Brussels 11 April 2018. 6 On these issues and the immediate modifications on consumers, see, BENAVIDES VELASCO, P., (2019), “Los Sujetos III: consumidores y usuarios ante el reto de la economía colaborativa”, in Régimen jurídico del consumo colaborativo , (Dir. H. Gosálbez Pequeño), Cizur Menor, Aranzadi, pp. 163 ff.