With holidaymakers planning trips across Europe and beyond, here are a few pointers on how the European Union can help if you get into difficulty or have any questions about your overseas travel.

I’m travelling outside Europe but my country has no embassy or consulate at my destination. Whom should I contact for help?

As a citizen of an EU member state, you are automatically an EU citizen and entitled to consular assistance if you are outside the EU (even if your own country is not represented).

You can go to any other EU member state’s consulate or embassy to ask for help, if for example you are arrested, have a serious accident or lose any import-ant documents.

You are also entitled to assistance in crisis situations: EU member states must help citizens evacuate when needed as if they were their own nationals. Find out if your country is represented at your destination at http://ec.europa.eu/ consularprotection.

Whom should I call if my child goes missing?

The European Union has agreed on a common helpline number (116 000) to report a missing child in any EU member state.

It will connect you to an experienced organisation able to provide support and practical assistance, whether it is psychological, legal or administrative.

Who can help if I have problems with an airline, a car rental company or a tour operator during my holiday, or if my plane, train, bus or boat journeys are delayed or cancelled?

Thanks to EU passenger rights rules, if your flight or trip is delayed by several hours, the transport company should compensate you in a fair way.

If it is cancelled and you have to stay in a hotel away from your final destination, the airline or train operator should pay for it.

Before travelling, check how to claim your rights at airports, ports, and bus and train stations across Europe at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passenger-rights/en or download the smartphone app at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passenger-rights/en/mobile.html.

What specific rights do disabled travellers have?

EU passenger rights rules protect disabled people and people with reduced mobility from discrimin-ation when travelling by air or train and grant them the same access to transport as other citizens.

If you have the right to disabled parking facilities when travelling by a car in your home country, you are granted access to identical facilities all over Europe.

All you need for this is your standardised model of disabled parking card.

I booked a package holiday but my operator went bust. Can I get a refund?

The Package Travel Directive protects European consumers going on holidays and covers pre-arranged package holidays combining at least two of the following: (1) transport, (2) accommodation, (3) other tourist services such as sightseeing tours (sold at an inclusive price).

The directive provides protection covering information in brochures, rights to cancel without penalty, liability for services (e.g. sub-standard hotels) and protection in the case of a tour operator or airline going bust.

In future, this protection will be extended to holidaymakers who book customised packages online (either from one trader or several commercially-linked traders), under new proposals from the European Commission, backed by the European Parliament. Around 120 million people will gain additional protection.

I’m thinking of buying a timeshare at my holiday resort. What should I keep in mind?

Thanks to EU rules, timeshare sellers must provide detailed information to customers in appropriate time, before the customer is bound by any contract, including the price to be paid, a description of the pro-duct and the exact period and length of stay that the customer is entitled to under the contract.

This information should be provided in the customer’s own language if they so choose.

The rules also ensure that customers may withdraw from a contract within a “cooling-off” period of 14 calendar days and that traders are not allowed to ask customers for any form of advance payment or deposit during that period.

Before the conclusion of the contract, the trader is required to explicitly draw the customer’s attention to the existence of the right of withdrawal, the length of the withdrawal period and the ban on advance payments during the withdrawal period.

What do I need to know if I want to take my cat, dog or ferret with me on holiday in the EU?

If you are travelling within the EU, you can easily take your pet, if you respect the following rules:

If you are taking your dog, cat or ferret, make sure that it has an anti-rabies vaccination and that this information is written into your pet’s passport.

If you are going to Ireland, Finland or the UK, your pet will also need to undergo an anti-parasite treatment.

If your dog or cat is less than three months old or if you have a different type of pet, country-specific rules may apply.

Check http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/pets/nat_rules_dogscatferret_en.htm for more information on this topic.

If you are an EU citizen travelling home with your pet from outside the EU, you will still need your pet’s passport. Depending on your holiday destination, your pet may need to undergo additional tests to the anti-rabies vaccination before going on holiday.

Before departure, check the requirements of the country you are planning to visit at http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/pets/index_en.htm

Can I bring back meat or cheese from abroad?

When returning home from most countries outside the EU, it is illegal to bring back any meat or dairy products whether for yourself or as a gift.

If you are coming back from the Faroe Islands, Greenland or Iceland, you can bring back up to 10 kilos of certain products of animal origin, powdered infant milk, infant food, special food or special pet food required for medical reasons.

To transport these products, they must be put in sealed packages and should not weigh more than two kilos or require refrigeration before opening.

You can also bring back fish and certain shellfish from Greenland, if they weigh up to 20 kilos. For the Faroe Islands or Iceland, no weight restrictions apply.

For other animal products, such as honey, you are also limited to two kilos.

When transporting animal products between countries inside the EU, these rules do not apply. Nor do they apply if you are coming from Andorra, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino or Switzerland.

The EU may introduce further restrictions in the event of infectious animal diseases in third countries.

In case of doubt, check with the veterinary service at the point of entry into the EU (airport, port, road and so on).

It is important to remember that these rules exist to protect your health and the health of EU livestock from serious animal diseases.

For more information, check out the travel Europa website at http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/index_en.htm

If I have problems while shopping during my holiday abroad, whom can I contact back home to help me get redress?

If you live in the EU, Norway or Iceland, you can get free assistance once you are home. Contact the European Consumer Centre (ECC) in your country if you had problems renting a car, booking a package holiday or a plane ticket while travelling in the EU, Norway or Iceland.

Their team can also help you solve problems you had when ordering accessories for your vacation online from another European country.

Those travelling to Brazil for the World Cup can also benefit from the ECC’s expertise.

You can download a special World Cup guide on your rights as a consumer in Brazil from  http://www.eccbelgium.be/leaflet-ecc-2014-fifa-world-cup-brazil-tm-s80041.htm.

During my holiday I bought a new pair of shoes but they broke after a week. How can I get my money back?

No matter where you shop within the EU, you have basic consumer rights that cannot be taken away. Within a two-year guarantee, the seller must repair or replace faulty goods free of charge.

If that is not possible within reasonable time or without inconvenience, you may ask for a refund or a price reduction.

Commercial guarantees do not replace the minimum two-year guarantee but may complement it. Whatever your nationality, EU consumer laws apply to purchases of goods or services made in any outlet located in EU territory. Warranties are regulated by law Europe-wide.

Member states are obliged to implement the EU requirements in national law, which may also offer a higher level of protection.

Thanks to the European Small Claims procedure, you are also able to claim your money back in three simple steps if you purchased a faulty product abroad. In many cases and in all EU countries – with the exception of Denmark – you can use this process. See http://ec.europa.eu/justice/civil/files/small_claims_practice_guide_en.pdf for details.

It is a speedy, cost-effective alternative to traditional court procedures, and can currently be used for commercial, including consumer, transactions involving up to €2,000. You only have to submit a standard form to the competent court.

Another piece of good news for consumers is that new EU rules on consumer rights will come into force as of June 13, 2014, which will ensure that all EU citizens have 14 days if they wish to return goods bought at a distance, whether by internet, post or phone.

What happens if I need to see a doctor abroad?

If you get sick or suffer an injury while travelling to an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you have the right to emergency treatment.

For this, you need to carry the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Treatment will be provided under the same conditions and at the same cost as for people insured in the country you are visiting. So don’t forget to ask your national health insurance provider to issue it for you, free.

To keep the emergency phone numbers you may need with you and for more information about the treatments covered and their costs, how to claim reimbursement and whom to contact in case you lose your card, download the smartphone application from http://ec.europa.eu/ social/main.jsp?catId=559. The app is available in 24 languages and does not replace the EHIC.

Exorbitant telephone bills ruin my holiday budget. How can I reduce them while travelling?

The EU is even saving you money when you travel, with further price drops this summer – the biggest drop being for data roaming: down from 45 cents per MB to 20 cents per MB (charged per KB used). See the table below for all new caps.

What’s more, from July 1 some mobile providers in Europe will allow you to choose a separate roaming contract before you travel and, where available, allow you to choose a local provider of mobile data roaming services in the country you visit.

This way, you can compare roaming offers and benefit from more attractive offers and prices while on holiday.

Even better news is that the EU is working on new rules right now to eliminate these costly roaming charges altogether.