Croatia has switched to the euro and has entered Europe’s passport-free zone. The Balkan nation bid farewell to its kuna currency and became the 20th member of the eurozone.
Croats will now be among almost 420 million people who are free to roam its 27 member countries without passports for work or leisure. Experts say the adoption of the euro will help shield Croatia’s economy at a time when inflation is soaring worldwide after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent food and fuel prices through the roof.
EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Croatia to mark the occasion. She met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar at a border crossing with EU member Slovenia, and was then to head on to Zagreb.
She tweeted: “It is the season of new beginnings. And there is no place in Europe where this is more true than here in Croatia.” Croatia joined the EU in 2013, but to adopt the euro the country had to fulfil a set of strict economic conditions, including having a stable exchange rate, controlled inflation and sound public spending.
