Brussels, 17/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Ljubljana on Friday for a conference on the state of preparedness of Slovenia for the euro, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner spoke warmly of the country's prospects for joining the single currency on 1st January 2007. Progress towards nominal convergence criteria were “encouraging” said Joaquin Almunia, insisting on great practical challenges to be faced. There was greater doubt regarding the chances of Lithuania's accession on the same date. As hinted at by Lithuanian Finance Minister Zigmantas Balcytis, on 16 March, Vilnius sent its request for early assessment of how well it was meeting the criteria for joining (see EUROPE 9151). In their convergence report, the Commission and the European Central Bank will consider especially the inflation criterion, which Lithuania missed by 0.1% in February, said Mr Balcytis. The Commission will carry out a rigorous assessment of the figures, and “will not deal with the report in a political approach”, said Mr Almunia, on the sidelines of the conference. “We have to look not only at the figure of the average inflation of the last 12 months but also of the sustainability of the fulfilment of the inflation criteria,” said the Commissioner, adding “the Lithuanian request recognises that Lithuania today does not fulfil the inflation criteria”.