Brussels, 22/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - As a candidate to join the single currency in 2008, Latvia may have to change its mind. The Latvian Finance Minister, Oskars Spurdzins, is still to submit a report on his country's capacity to join the euro zone in 2008, a diplomat told EUROPE on Monday, but for Riga, the current aim seems to be to distance itself. First of all, Latvia would have to be able to reduce its annual inflation rate significantly; at its current rate, it could exceed 6.9% in 2006 and even stay at 6.7% in 2007, according to the Commission's spring economic forecasts. Last week, however, the Commission rejected Lithuania's application (EUROPE 9193), on the grounds that Vilnius was presenting an inflation rate slightly above the threshold required (the annual average of the three Member States of the EU with the best performances, plus 1.5%, which currently stands at 2.6%) and that price levels could increase in the long-term. The other Baltic State which may adopt the euro in 2007, Estonia, had already given up on its hopes of an early assessment, stating that it inflation levels did not permit it to apply at this stage and postponing its ambitions until 2008. Latvia, for its part, is said to have taken note of the Commission's strictness in examining the convergence criteria, and will try to define a more realistic target date for accession. In the autumn, the Commission and the European Central Bank will present the convergence reports for all of the Member States planning to adopt the euro.