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It sounds fantastic, right?

"The government has introduced new measures," ministers boasted, "that will protect an extra 10 million UK package holidays a year."

There's just one fact you should know. This isn't a new law dreamed up by the UK - it's come directly from the EU.

In the small print, not only does the government admit it's an EU law - it says it's being introduced with only a "light touch" to "minimise" any change.

You won't find any mention of that fact in the government's press release. Nor in the claim "we're introducing new rules" by the Tory press office.

It's not the first time, either. A string of EU policies were dusted off, tweaked and launched afresh by the UK government only last summer.

You'd need a sense of humour extraction not to appreciate the irony of this.

Just as Britain leaves the EU to "free" ourselves from its laws, the government is boasting about how those very same laws will help Brits' lives.

Labour MP Ian Murray, of the anti-Brexit People's Vote campaign, said: "The Government is trying to have it both ways, playing to the rogues’ gallery of Brextremists in Parliament by saying they’ll deliver a hard Brexit but at the same time trying to take credit for EU rules that strengthen rights and protections for workers, consumers, and our environment.

“For the Government to try taking credit for those very same EU rules is the height of shamelessness."

So what is today's policy about, and how has it happened before? Here's a run-down.

The new law explained

Name: Package Travel Regulations 2018

Date: July 1

Department: Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

What is it?

(Image: Getty)

The definition of 'package holidays' - which enjoy special refund and compensation protection under the law - is being massively extended.

Millions of people who book breaks online and via mobile, bypassing travel agents, will be protected just like people who walk into a shop.

And money-saving websites that pull together lots of third party deals will now be responsible for the whole holiday if a hotel goes bust - under a new category of agents called "linked travel arrangements".

The new rules took effect on July 1, 2018.

How was it announced?

Officials issued a press release claiming "the government has introduced new measures" and didn't mention the EU.

The Tory press office went even further, tweeting an emoji of a palm tree with the words: "We are introducing new rules to protect package holidaymakers and save customers tens of millions of pounds."

So what's the EU link?

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

The government itself says this new law simply enacts the EU's 2015 Package Travel Directive.

A quick look shows it's the EU - not Britain - that drew up the plans for equality for online shops, as well as 'linked travel arrangements'.

And it's not as if the UK was jumping at the chance to implement it.

In fact, the government's covering note said: "Our approach to implementation is light-touch in order to impose minimal additional burdens on business."

The government also admitted it's a "maximum harmonisation" directive, meaning the UK "does not have flexibility" to change most of it.

One of the only changes was to preserve the current regime, rather than introduce new rules, for airlines that go bust when booked through a 'linked travel' website.

... And four we found from last summer

1. Credit card charges outlawed

(Image: Rex)

Date: July 19, 2017

Department: Treasury

What is it? Extra charges for paying by credit card were set to be outlawed from January 2018. It would save Brits £473million on extra charges for flights, online shopping, gig tickets and more.

How was it announced? The Treasury issued a press release claiming "ministers today acted to end these unfair fees" and didn't mention the EU at all.

So what's the EU link? The Second EU Payment Services Directive was already forcing governments to introduce a ban on certain types of surcharge by January 2018. The government simply decided to "extend" this ban to "all retail payment instruments", its own documents say.

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2. Tough new fines for IT meltdowns

(Image: AFP)

Date: August 8, 2017

Department: Culture, Media and Sport

What is it? Bodies providing an "essential service" like airlines, utility firms and the NHS could face fines of up to £17million if IT blunders or cyber-hacks lead to service failures.

How was it announced? A press release mentioned it was about "how to implement the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Directive from May 2018".

So what's the EU link? The above Directive is a wide-ranging EU law on improving cyber-security. It says it will be up to EU member states to decide a level of "penalties" which are "effective, proportionate and dissuasive". In other words, the general principle was from the EU and the exact rule drawn up by the government.

3. New protections for your personal data

Date: August 7, 2017

Department: Culture, Media and Sport

What is it? A new Data Protection Bill will bring in a string of measures including the 'right to be forgotten' and making it easier to withdraw consent for the use of personal data.

How was it announced? In a press release with the boastful title "Government to strengthen UK data protection law" and a small mention of the EU Directive at the bottom.

So what's the EU link? Many of the measures - including the right to be forgotten and changes to the law on consent - are almost word-for-word what's already in the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

And finally... sound familiar? More protection for package hols

(Image: Thomson Airways)

Date: August 14, 2017

Department: Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

What is it? The Package Travel Regulations. That's right - Tory ministers tried to claim today's law as their own before, just under a year ago.

How was it announced? The government issued a press release with the title "Government launches proposals to better protect holidaymakers". The only reference to the EU was the final sentence: " The European Package Travel Directive comes into force in July 2018."