Sustainable Tourism Law

220 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW Commission makes sure that standards and recommended practices are compatible with far-reaching commitments made by the European Union in the context of the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) in tourism and related sectors 57 . On the merits of the scheme provided by Annex I – Assistance obligation of States in Emergency Situations , the Council draws attention to the importance of international law ensuring an adequate level of assistance to be guaranteed to the tourists who are in an emergency situation, such as a natural disaster while they are visiting a country that has ratified Annex I, and establishes procedures as effective and compatible as possible with the principles established by the laws of the European Union and its Member States. At the same time, it highlights that the type and level of assistance that countries affected by emergencies will be reasonably able to offer tourists, should be considered carefully. With reference to Annex II-Package travel , the Council decision indicates that, following the adoption of Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of 25 November 2015 concerning package travel and related tourism services, the discussion developed within the framework of the Working Group was essentially based on the contents of the new European legislation. Therefore, the Commission must ensure that the rules provided by Annex II are indeed compatible with the PackageTravel Directive and reflects its content as much as possible. At the same time, the EU will show some flexibility with regard to the level of control that other stakeholders are willing to accept, with particular reference to legally binding rules in order to ensure that a sufficiently large number of non-Member States accept the uniform rules. With regard to Annex III-Accommodation , it highlights the need for international regulations to be fully compatible with EU laws and ensure an adequate level of protection for tourists in relation to accommodation services, taking also into account the legitimate interests of those who travel for business reasons. In this case, the guidelines of the Convention must appropriately be linked to aspects already regulated by Directive 83/2011/EU of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights 58 , especially with regard to the information to be provided prior to the signing of the contract and which will be included as an integral part in the contract. There is also a connection between Directive 57 Furthermore, it should be noted that the terminology used in the text of the draft Convention must correspond as closely as possible to that used in European Union law and in any case it is compatible even when, in consideration of the expressions generally used in some international contexts, there is not a perfect coincidence of language in the proposed texts. 58 Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 2011/83/EU of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.