Croatia to Adopt Euro as Official Currency from 2023

July 12, 2022
croatia

By Adedapo Adesanya

Croatia will join the list of European countries adopting the Euro as its official currency after the European Union (EU) finance ministers on Tuesday gave the country the final green light to adopt the single currency on January 1, 2023.

“I would like to congratulate my counterpart, Zdravko Maric, and the whole of Croatia for becoming the 20th country to join the euro area,” said Mr Zbynek Stanjura, the finance minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

Croatia’s switch from the Kuna to the Euro in 2023 will come less than a decade after the former Yugoslav republic joined the EU and will set a new milestone in the bloc’s further integration.

“This is a time for celebration… and an act of conviction,” said Ms Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) at a signing ceremony in Brussels.

“The whole of Croatia decided and was convinced of the value of joining the euro and the euro area,” she added.

In adopting the legal texts necessary for the historic move, the ministers officially set the euro at 7.53450 Croatian Kuna.

The newest member joins the group at a difficult moment with the Euro in parity with the US Dollar, a symptom of a looming cost-of-living crisis in the eurozone economy.

To join the Euro, Croatia met strict conditions, including keeping inflation in the same range as its EU peers, as well as embracing sound public spending.

Croatia expressed willingness to adopt the single currency upon joining the EU in 2013, and the decision to allow it entry comes as the Euro has just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

On January 1, 2002, millions of Europeans in 12 countries including Italy, France, and Germany, among others gave up the Lira, Franc, Deutsche mark and Drachma for Euro bills and coins.

They have since been joined by seven other countries: Slovenia in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, Estonia in 2011, Latvia in 2014 and finally Lithuania in 2015.

Bulgaria is the next county in line to join the Euro and has stated its willingness to adopt it as of January 1, 2024.

However, eurozone members are worried about the long-term stability of the Bulgarian economy and Sofia has yet to garner the same political support as Croatia.

EU governments are wary of repeating the mistakes of the Euro’s early days when countries such as Greece were rushed into the single currency with shaky finances, setting the stage for the eurozone debt crisis.

Like Euro-adopting citizens before them, reports show that many Croatians fear the introduction of the currency will lead to a hike in prices — in particular that businesses will round up prices when they convert from the Kuna.

Adedapo Adesanya

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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