Starting this Sunday, the euro will be used as a means of payment in Croatia. Nine years after joining the EU, the Adriatic country is the 20th member state of the eurozone.
ECB President Christine Lagarde said Croatia had worked hard to join the eurozone. The euro is an attractive currency that brings stability to its members.
Shortly after midnight, Croatian Finance Minister Marko Primoratz and Croatian National Bank head Boris Vujčić retrieved the first euro banknotes from an ATM. For the introduction of the euro, the country had to fulfill a series of conditions and the exchange rate is also fixed.
Croatians now have until January 14 to choose whether they want to pay with kuna or euros.
At the same time, the popular holiday destination for Germans joined the borderless Schengen zone – a double relief for tourists.
While the removal of border controls is widely welcomed, some are concerned about the transition to the euro, which right-wing opposition groups say will only benefit countries like Germany and France. Before the holidays, there were long queues in front of banks because people wanted to withdraw money for fear of payment difficulties.