The year 2023 promises to be synonymous with change and on the eve of the first day, December 31, 2022, Croatia said goodbye to its currency, the kuna. Thus, the country becomes the twentieth member of the region euro And the twenty-seventh country to join the Schengen area.
Already a member of the European Union since July 2013, Croatia did not adopt the euro until Sunday, January 1, 2023. In addition, it thus became a member of the Schengen Area. This region includes several countries, whose population (more than 400 million people) can travel freely without internal border controls.
The necessary measures for this crossing will be taken on Sunday with the closure of 73 border points. In terms of airports, this will have to wait until March 26, 2023.
The impact of this entry on the Croats
Opinion about the accession of Croatia to the eurozone and, accordingly, to space Schengen lead to different reactions. If leaders withhold profits, citizens fear inflation.
According to the Croatian leaders, who refer to the opinion of experts, this switch to the euro “will help protect the Croatian economy”, which is currently considered one of the “weakest” in the European Union.
Croatia had to face many difficulties. Initially, the country was at war in the 1990s, and lost 10% of its population. Then, with respect to recent years, Croatia experienced a 6-year recession between 2009 and 2015, but has recovered since 2016.
In fact, since 2016 the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.2% and per capita GDP is now 70% of the EU average, putting it between Greece and Portugal. However, the country has faced inflation and an energy crisis since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Citizens, for their part, fear higher prices when converting from the euro, especially if companies raise prices to a level higher than the conversion.
