Today, January 1, Croatia officially became the twentieth member of the Eurozone and joined the Schengen zone.
From today, the euro becomes the official currency in the country, which should gradually replace the Croatian kuna. The local currency should be phased out by July 31, 2023. The country started the transition to the euro in September of last year.
Croatia also became part of the Schengen area. This means that there are no internal borders between Schengen countries within the European Union. When entering Croatia by land, it is now not necessary to go through border control.
- Together with Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania want to join the Schengen area. The Dutch government has announced that it will block Bulgariaʼs entry into Schengen. In December 2022, the EU Council did not approve the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the zone.