“It’s the time for new beginnings. And there is no place in Europe where this applies more than Croatia,” wrote EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter at the start of her visit to Croatia. At a border crossing between Croatia and Slovenia, she met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar.
At a joint press conference, Plenkovic called his country’s entry into the Schengen area and the euro zone a “historic moment”. Von der Leyen made a similar statement, speaking of a “day for the history books”.
The EU Commission President and the Croatian head of government then traveled on to Zagreb. On the central square of the Croatian capital, Plenkovic invited von der Leyen to have a coffee – and paid the bill in euros.
Croatia is hoping for more stability from joining the euro in view of the strong inflation. In November, the rate of inflation in the country reached 13.5 percent – in the euro zone it was 10 percent.
But the feelings of the population are mixed. Some fear that the cost of living will increase as a result of switching to the euro, because many companies could round up their prices when converting. “It will be difficult,” said teacher Ivana Toncic from Zagreb. “Prices that are already high will get even higher.”
The director of the Croatian National Bank, in a symbolic move, withdrew euros from an ATM in Zagreb’s city center on Sunday. In recent days, customers have been queuing at banks and ATMs to withdraw money. They feared payment problems at the beginning of the changeover period.
However, the conversion to the euro should not be difficult for the citizens, since many transactions in Croatia have already been carried out in the single European currency. Croatia has been part of the European Union since 2013, making it the youngest EU member.
French President Emmanuel Macron also welcomed the introduction of the euro in Croatia in a video message on Sunday. He spoke of a “stable and solid” currency that would contribute to Europe’s resilience in the face of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Croatia will become a member of an “elite club,” said Marko Pavic, an employee of a travel agency. The euro was already a measure of value, “psychologically this is nothing new, while joining the Schengen area is fantastic news for tourism,” Pavic told the AFP news agency.
The government in Zagreb hopes that accession to the Schengen area will have a positive effect on the important tourism sector. It accounts for 20 percent of gross domestic product.
Long queues at the 73 border crossings with Slovenia and Hungary will be a thing of the past. At airports, on the other hand, the procedure will not change until March 26 due to technical problems.
Strict entry controls will continue to be in place at the country’s eastern border, which Croatia shares with non-EU members Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia. Croatia is on the so-called Western Balkan route, which not only takes refugees and migrants on their way to the EU, but also arms, drugs and people smuggling.
