Croatia, Europe Brief News – Croatia will officially become the 20th member of the Eurozone on 1 January 2023.
This came after European ministers on Tuesday gave their approval for Croatia to adopt the euro.
Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Marić described the decision as “a big day for the European Union, for European monetary Union”.
“The fact that Croatia will become the 20th member of (the) euro area is also (a) clear signal that European integration is ongoing despite all the challenges that we are facing. This is a very strong, positive message to all of our citizens, clients to all of our markets,” he added.
The conversion rate has been set at 7.53450 Croatian kuna per euro, the European Central bank said.
“This coincides with the level of the current central rate of the kuna in the exchange rate mechanism,” it explained.
The governor of the Croatian National Bank (CNB) also welcomed the move, arguing in a statement that the single currency will offer citizens and businesses “concrete, direct and permanent benefits.”
“The currency risk will disappear to the greatest extent, and Croatia will be more attractive to investments and safer in times of crisis. The euro is also a key value of European unity and will enable give us an even more active role in the European project,” Boris Vujčić added.
The decision by finance ministers came as the euro reached parity with the US dollar for the first time in 20 years as markets fear the 27-country bloc could be plunged into recession as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
