European Union (EU) annual inflation was 2.1 percent in January down from 2.3 percent in December. A year earlier the rate was 2.9 percent, it was reported here Thursday.  Euro area annual inflation was 2.0 percent in January, down from 2.2 percent in December. A year earlier the rate was 2.7 percent.  These figures were released by Eurostat, the EU\'s statistical office.  In January, the lowest annual inflation rates were observed in Greece (0. 0pct), Portugal (0.4pct) and Latvia (0.6pct), and the highest in Romania (5. 1pct), Estonia (3.7pct) and the Netherlands (3.2pct).  Compared with December, annual inflation fell in 23 EU Member States, remained stable in one and rose in three.