As of today, January 1st, Croatia has joined the eurozone and has officially adopted the euro and the Schengen area, the area of free movement in Europe. The historic moment was celebrated at the two main border crossings with Slovenia and Hungary, as well as at an ATM in the center of the capital Zagreb. In the last few months, the European Central Bank has delivered 63 million banknotes and 286 million coins to Croatian post offices and banks. For cash payments, the transitional period applies until January 14, 2023. The exchange rate was set at 7.53450 Croatian kuna per 1 euro. Croatia, which joined the European Union in 2013, is the 20th country to adopt the euro since the launch of the single currency and the 27th to join the Schengen area.
The reactions of Lagarde and Von der Leyen
Croatia has achieved exceptional success and this is great news, said ECB President Christine Lagarde, commenting on Zagreb’s entry into the euro zone and the Schengen area. To be able to do all this and cover all areas in a 10-year period between joining the European Union and joining the euro area is an incredible achievement, he added. On the occasion of Croatia’s accession to the Schengen area and the euro zone, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met at 12.00 on New Year’s Day at the Slovenian-Croatian border at the Bregana border crossing on the Ljubljana-Croatian border in Zagreb, where since midnight all controls have been abolished.
Best regards from Mattarella
The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella congratulated Zagreb on this success. Today Croatia joins the Schengen area and the Eurozone. An important result for the European project and for the Croatian people, whom I wish all the best. I hope that other countries will soon achieve the same goal, for the good of the whole EU, reads the message published on the Quirinale’s Twitter account.
End of line at the border
With the fall of the two walls, the borders of the European Union are expanding with not inconsiderable practical consequences. First of all, there are no border controls for those who go on holiday to Croatia: so no more long queues in Trieste or at the Slovenian border; Instead, it should be checked what impact Zagreb’s entry into the euro zone will have on prices: however, in many tourist resorts in the country of the former Yugoslavia, the Frankfurt ticket has already been accepted without any problems.
The first row of migrants
The other clearly visible impact could concern the issue of migrants. Until yesterday, the European Union’s physical border ran on the Balkan side between Slovenia, Italy and Austria. This made Trieste, for example, a first line of the Balkan migration route. With the inclusion of Croatia in the free movement area, this front is shifting further south, and it will be up to the Zagreb authorities to manage the flow of arrivals.
Istria is reunited (after 1945)
Finally, the lifting of barriers between Croatia and the rest of the EU has a historical implication: for the first time since the end of World War II, all borders between Venezia Giulia and Istria, a land symbol of the wounds of the conflict, have disappeared. After 1945 this area was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia, later between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Now all residents of the area become full European citizens and all enjoy equal rights.