The introduction of the euro in Croatia next year was sealed with a ceremony. On Tuesday, Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric signed the documents to become the 20th member of the currency union.
The finance ministers of the EU countries had previously approved the necessary legal acts. The conversion rate of the current national currency has been fixed at 7.53 kuna to 1 euro. “Congratulations, this is cause for celebration,” said European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde.
Croatia will thus become the first country since 2015 to adopt the common EU currency on January 1, 2023. Previously, Lithuania had introduced the euro.
According to the EU treaties, all member states except Denmark are obliged to join the common currency as soon as they meet the requirements. However, several countries are not pursuing this vigorously – they include, for example, Sweden, Poland and Hungary.
In Croatia, tourism in particular is looking forward to the introduction of the euro with great expectations. The country with the long Adriatic coast, the many picturesque bays and islands depends heavily on tourism.
