Brussels  - The European Union is prepared to extend emergency financial assistance to Latvia, officials reported Saturday.

No figure was set for the planned aid, which was announced by the EU Commission and a council of EU finance ministers. An official statement said the amount would be less than the 6.5 billion euros (8.1 billion dollars) that the EU has already promised Hungary to help it avoid bankruptcy.

The EU officials said they are in close contact with Latvia and that a solution is being worked on in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.

Latvia has been an EU member since 2004, but has not yet adopted the euro. (dpa)