REVISION OF THE EUROPEAN PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE various tourist services is to be considered as a package (see Article 1(3) of the proposed Directive). Although the Commission Proposal is supposed to bring more legal certainty to travellers when speculating on their legal status, more complex and detailed definitions do not necessarily serve this goal. Many of the proposed definitions seem excessively complex and consequently not clear to lawyers let alone lay travellers. Drafting legislation based on crossreferences causes confusion and does not contribute to legal certainty. In this regard, it would be advisable to abandon references and give full definitions within articles, even if slightly simplified. b. Advance payments With the aim of protecting travellers from organiser’s liquidity problems that can cause the impossibility of restitution in case of termination of contract, the Proposal introduces a new article on payments (Article 5a). It limits prepayments to 25% of the package price and explicitly states that the remaining payments may not be due earlier than 28 days before the start of the package. However, higher amounts of prepayments are tolerated when there are justified reasons to do so (i.e. when it is necessary due to the organisation and performance of the package). This provision has been obviously introduced in favour of travellers since there have been massive losses of advance payments during the COVID-19 crisis. However, the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) expressed concerns about such limitation, warning that it would raise the overall package prices, double the burden on intermediaries and weaken traders while offering minimal benefits to consumers, thereby potentially excluding the most vulnerable.14 Although the proposed solution has been criticised for being unnecessary, the Commission’s use of the pandemic as the basis for such a big change15 makes additional protection seem reasonable from the travellers’ point of view. However, while the proposed provision sets a clear limit of prepayments on a maximum 25% of the package price, it still leaves the door open for exceptions. Although such exceptions are reasonable from the organisers’ point of view, they might cause problems in practice since it will be very difficult for the consumer to know whether their exception is justified or not. 14 https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/operators-agents-and-airlines-slam-ec-holidaysprepayment-plan. 15 Ibid.
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