Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

478 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, amending Regulation (EC) 2006/2004 and Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 90/314/EEC 2 . The previous Directive did not mention this character in any of its articles. Council Directive 90/314/EEC laid down a number of important consumer rights in relation to package travel, in particular with regard to information requirements, the liability of traders in relation to the performance of a package and protection against the insolvency of an organiser or a retailer. However, it did not state the imperative nature of the Directive. The consequence was that the national rules of transposition of the Directive, in the field of package travel, were not imperative rules, unless national law provided otherwise. For example, in Spain, Directive 90/314/EEC was transposed by Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2007, de 16 de noviembre, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios y otras leyes complementarias (Libro IV del TRLGDCU, arts. 150-165) 3 ( Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of November 16, approving the revised text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws (Book IV of the TRLGDCU, articles 150-165). Article 67 of the TRLGDCU declared the imperative nature only of the rules of protection against abusive clauses (articles 82 to 91) and of the rules of protection in the matter of distance contracts and guarantees (articles 92 to 106 and arts. 114 to 126, respectively), but not in relation to package travel. The proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on package travel and assisted travel arrangements, amending Regulation (EC) number 2006/2004, Directive 2011/83/EU and repealing Council Directive 90/314/EEC 4 mentioned the imperative nature for the first time in Article 21, where the imperative nature of the package travel and linked travel arrangements dispositions were stipulated. The imperative nature of the Directive was necessary to increase legal certainty for travellers and traders with respect to Directive 90/314/EEC and for the creation of a real consumer internal market in the area of package travel and linked travel arrangements, and this has been reflected in Article 23 of the new Directive. 2 OJ L 326, 11.12.2015. 3 BOE n.º 287 de 30 de noviembre de 2007. 4 COM/2013/0512 final – 2013/0246 (COD).