At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, Croatia switched to the shared European currency, the euro, and removed dozens of border checkpoints to join the world's largest passport-free travel area.
Croatia's Minister of Interior Davor Bozinovic, left, pushes a button to lift the barrier at the Bregana border crossing between Croatia and Slovenia, accompnanied by Slovenian counterpart Sanja Ajanovic Hovnik, early Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. More than nine years after Croatia became the European Union's newest member, it is switching to the EU's common currency, the euro, and joining Europe's passport-free travel Schengen area.
Adopting the euro will likewise offer Croatia the benefits stemming from deeper financial ties with the currency’s 19 other users and with the European Central Bank. It will also make traveling and doing business easier, removing the hassle of currency exchange for Croats going abroad and for tens of thousands of tourists who visit their country each year for work or to enjoy its stunning Adriatic coastline.
Now, the task will be taken over by Croatia, which will continue to apply strict border controls on its eastern borders with non-EU neighbors Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro. “I spent years of my life waiting at border checkpoints, so I came here tonight to witness this moment, the moment after which I will wait no more,” he said.
The Croatian kuna and the euro will be in dual use for cash payments for only 14 days, but as people shop post-holiday in January they will receive only euros in change.
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