Brussels, 16/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The changeover to the euro led to a rise in prices of some 0.16% in the first half of 2002 in the euro zone, said Gerassimos Thomas, spokesman for Commissioner Pedro Solbes, on Thursday. This rise "is not negligible, but nor is it very important", he said, especially attributing the increase in prices to "restaurants, cafes and other services". These comments were made while Eurostat had just upwardly reviewed its estimates on annual inflation in the euro zone from 2.2% to 2.4% (2.2% in April in the EU15). Other than the changeover to the euro, the other factors that contributed to the rise in inflation in April were "a rise in the price of fresh fruit, vegetables, tobacco and energy products", said the spokesman. In April, the highest annual inflation rates ere recorded in Ireland (5%), the Netherlands (4.2%) and Greece (4.1%). The lowest rates were recorded in Germany (1.6%), Austria (1.6%) and Belgium (1.7%).