Brussels, 22/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - Everyone agrees: the first reading EP-Council agreement reached in Strasbourg on 22 October on the new timeshare directive is great news to European consumers and tourists, as the text will give them the same protection throughout Europe against shady dealers, professional dream holiday con artists who have until now exploited the loop holes in existing legislation. Honest operators, specialists in this kind of holiday, will also gain from common rules being applied which will restore consumer confidence in a growth market which employs 200,000 Europeans and generates some €2.3 billion every year, say EP rapporteur Toine Manders (ALDE, Netherlands) and Meglena Kuneva, European Consumer Protection Commissioner.
Following the lead of its rapporteur, the EP approved (by 674 votes to 16, with 10 abstentions) the compromise package from the three main groups (EPP-ED, PES and ALDE), reflecting the successful negotiations with the Council on a text to provide the EU with a new, fully harmonised, simplified and consistent legal framework for timeshare and long-term holiday products, and also their exchange and resale. In extending the scope of a 1994 directive which it replaces, the new directive will close the loopholes in piecemeal and outdated arrangements. The new legislation will take account of new products on the market (such as accommodation on cruise ships, caravans, riverboats and long-term holiday products such as holiday clubs at preferential rates for which consumers pay a very high joining fee) and new contracts that sat on the edges of European rules (such as contracts lasting under three years). It will also introduce rules of the exchange and resale of these goods.
The text approved will apply to all contracts of more than one year and will give consumers new rights which guarantee him/her: - a 14-day cooling-off period after signing the contract, as the European Commission proposed (the Council initially wanted to reduce this to 10 days); - the right to notify that it is withdrawing by letter, by e-mail, fax or by other equivalent means; the right to have any other pre-contractual information required before signing contacts, drafted in the European language of their choice on the basis of a standard formula that has to be available in all EU languages; the right to not have to pay a down-payment during the cooling off period given that there will be a ban on operators asking for any payment during this period; the right to make regular annual payments, rather than a forfeit payment in advance for holiday club formulas and the right to end a contract before each annual payment.
The text also includes adoption of a code of conduct for operators and implementation of quality branding for different holiday formulas. Member states will be encouraged to create an efficient extra-judicial system for complaints and appeals procedures for settling litigation at national courts. They will also be obliged to encourage operators to inform consumers of these rights.
Toine Manders was delighted with the, “notable improvements to the text for consumer and the industry”. He was pleased with the European Commission's commitment to closely follow respect for legislation implementation by member states. If there is one regret, it is that no indication was given on the competent jurisdiction in litigation cases but, “we can't obtain everything in a trilogue”.
Arlene McCarthy (EPP-ED, United Kingdom), shadow rapporteur welcomed the text that provided consumers with “all the required information, including costs and charges” and which would allow for the withdrawal deadline to be extended to three months if an operator failed to provide pre-contractual information, indeed an extension to a year if they do not inform consumers of their right to withdraw from a contract.
Meglena Kuneva welcomed the result of the vote, which she said would bring “significant improvements” for consumer on the time share markets and similar holiday products. The Commission mentioned some of the scams which the directive would put an end to and gave the example of holiday clubs that demanded consumers pay a subscription of €6000 and €20,000 just for the right to have a reduction on future holidays. She said that these were non-regulated products, which were the subject of many consumer complaints. (A.N./transl/rh/rt)