This Commission staff working document provides guidelines on the application of Directive 2008/48/EC (Consumer Credit Directive) in relation to costs and the Annual Percentage Rate of charge (APR).
This working document has been prepared on the basis of work carried out by the Commission services informed by the knowledge on the transposition of the CCD by Member States. Its main purpose is to provide guidelines on the key concepts and provisions of the CCD, in particular with respect to the total cost of credit and the APR.
The aim of the guidelines is to develop a common understanding of the provisions contained in the CCD and to facilitate a convergence of practices amongst Member States when implementing and applying the CCD to consumer credit agreements within the scope of the Directive.
In this way the Guidelines intend to contribute to the principal objective of the Directive, which is to enhance the functioning of the internal market for consumer credit also offering a sufficient degree of consumer protection. They take into account the results of a questionnaire sent to Member States in early 2011 on national practices when applying the APR rules to consumer credit and on difficulties encountered in the process of transposition.