THE Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise & Employment, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said yesterday he hoped to have political agreement on a common formula for calculating APR during the EU presidency.

Mr Rabbitte said it was hoped that agreement on a formula for calculating APR throughout the European Union would be reached at the consumer council meeting in November.

He said the proposals also provided for the use of a Community-wide symbol accompanying the APR quotation to enable consumers to compare "with certainty and confidence", the credit products available throughout the EU.

Mr Rabbitte said the Commission was currently issuing proposals on a directive on gaurantees/after sales service. He said debate on this directive, which aims to harmonise consumer guarantees throughout the EU, would also take place at the November meeting.

Other issues for discussion include the whole area of financial services and commercial communications in the internal market.