Boom gates at Croatian border posts swung open at midnight on Sunday as the country joined Europe’s free movement zone as the country also adopted the euro as its currency.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed “two immense achievements” as she spoke alongside Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar at a border post in the town of Bregana.
“Nowhere in Europe is it more true today that it is a time of departure and new chapters than here on the border between Croatia and Slovenia,” said von der Leyen.
“Nothing will be the same after that,” said Plenković, noting the comfort that free movement and monetary union will bring to Croatians.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the former Yugoslav republic’s accession to the EU. Von der Leyen praised the hard work of the Croatian people and praised Plenković for pushing through the reforms needed for rapid advancement into the EU’s monetary club.
She said the euro “brings macroeconomic stability and credibility” at home and abroad.
“Our citizens and the economy will be better protected against crises,” said Plenković.
But more than that, said von der Leyen, the pine marten-printed euro coin – which gave its name to the former Croatian currency, the kuna – is “a symbol of the successful marriage between your national identity and your European destiny”.
The introduction of the euro follows a long campaign to demonstrate that Croatia can meet the currency zone’s requirements for economic governance. Croatian Finance Minister Marko Primorac told POLITICO last week he expects the country’s debt ratio to fall sharply in the coming years as the recovery from the pandemic continues.
Shortly after midnight, Primorac withdrew the first euros from a Croatian ATM.
Entry into the Schengen zone means the lifting of land and sea border controls with Croatia’s European neighbors. The airport controls of the 26 other countries participating in the program will end in March.
The fall of these movement barriers is “the final confirmation of our European identity, for which generations of Croats have fought and fought,” said Interior Minister Davor Božinović, who opened the barrier in Bregana at midnight on New Year’s Day together with his Slovenian counterpart. Sanja Ajanovic Hovnik.
Parties were organized by citizens at the border. Von der Leyen said those living near Slovenia and Hungary would see “tangible results” as they could travel freely across the border for work and shopping. “The communities will grow closer together,” she said.
The Commission President also pointed to the responsibility that Schengen accession confers on Croatia at a time when migratory pressures are a matter of growing political tensions between members of the bloc.
“We will have to work very closely together to protect Schengen and preserve its benefits,” von der Leyen said. “In Schengen we rely on each other and we know that we can trust you and that we can count on Croatia.”
In a statement, Slovenian Hovnik congratulated Croatia on a “historic” step her country had taken just a year earlier and tried to allay Slovenian concerns about security along the newly opened border.
“It’s an event that we’ve been preparing for a long time on both sides of the border,” she said.