Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ARTICLE 24 | AFONSO RIBEIRO CAFÉ 497 applicable to linked travel arrangements, in chapter 5, section 15, stating on the information obligations, that: travellers “will benefit from insolvency protection in accordance with Austrian legislation relating to the transposition of Article 19(1) in conjunction with Article 17 of Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2011/83/EU and repealing Directive 90/314/EEC, OJ L 326, 11.12.2015, p. 1”. The Greek transposition was performed through the Presidential Decree 7 of 2018. The penalties for non-fulfilment of the provisions of the Directive have a wide range of coverage of situations; however, the administrative fines are up to €1,000.00 euros, which, as in Austrian law, is a very low maximum amount for penalties in order to enforce the provisions of the Directive properly. The bodies to investigate and prosecute the infractions of law provisions are Regional Offices of Tourism (article 23, nr 9). In article 16, the Greek law provides very broad protection in case of insolvency, stating that organisers, established in Greece, just as those not established in an EU Member State, shall provide guarantee, through an insurance policy, in order to refund all payments made by or on behalf of travellers when relevant services are not performed as a consequence of the organiser’s insolvency. If the carriage of passengers is included in the package travel contract, organisers shall also provide security for the travellers’ repatriation by activating the relevant clauses of the insurance contract. This guarantee shall cover the amounts of payments made by or on behalf of travellers to purchase a package, taking into account the length of the period between down payments and final payments and the completion of the package, as well as the estimated cost for repatriation in the event of the organiser’s insolvency. The protection against organiser’s insolvency shall cover travellers, regardless of their place of residence, the place of departure or where the package is sold and irrespective of the Member State where the insurance company in charge of the insolvency protection is located. When the organiser’s insolvency affects performance of the package, the security shall be available free of charge to ensure repatriation and, if necessary, the financing of accommodation prior to the repatriation. Protection in linked travel arrangements is also arranged through insurance contracts, article 18, provided by the facilitating trader, which covers the refund of all payments they receive from travellers insofar as a travel service which is part of a linked travel arrangement is not performed and also the traveller’s repatriation.