Croatia - January 2023

A decade after joining the EU, on 1 January 2023, Croatia became the 27th country to join Europe's Schengen Area, and the 20th country to have adopted the euro as its currency. Both memberships are expected to facilitate the country’s greater integration into the EU and strengthen its economy. Croatia will also be able to access Schengen monitoring, control and data exchange mechanisms. The replacement of the kuna with the euro is intended to improve the standard of living and strengthen the economy, particularly sectors such as tourism and manufacturing. While 55 per cent of Croatian citizens support the currency replacement, 80 per cent fear a rise in prices. The Governor of the Central Bank, Boris Vujcic, has said that the benefits of the Eurozone can already be felt. There were, however, reports of price gouging.

Sources: Euronews (1), Euronews (2), British Broadcasting Corporation, Eurobarometer