ZAGREB, 12 July 2022 - After the Ecofin on Tuesday adopted final three legal acts enabling Croatia to introduce the euro as its currency on 1 January 2023, the national bank (HNB) governor said that the euro area membership would produce concrete, direct and lasting benefits for Croatia's citizens and enterprise sector.
European Union's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) today formally endorsed Croatia's entry into the euro area on 1 January 2023, and one of its three decisions sets the conversion rate between the euro and the Croatian kuna at 7.53450 kuna for 1 euro. The rate corresponds to the current central rate of the kuna in the exchange rate mechanism (ERM II).
The decisions followed after the European Commission assessed that Croatia had met all the convergence criteria and after the positive opinions of the European Parliament and the European Central Bank (ECB).
The HNB Governor Boris Vujčić recalls that the changeover to the euro will eliminate the foreign exchange risk and this would also make Croatia more attractive and safer in the times of crisis.
He described the euro as a symbol of the European unity.
"I am sincerely proud of this great Croatian success," Vujčić was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the HNB.
The press release quotes Prime Minister Andrej Plenković as saying that "Croatia becomes a member of the euro area on 1 January 2023!"
Thus we have achieved a strategic goal, he underscores.
The euro adoption will make our economy more resilient and raise the living standards of our citizens in the long run," said the PM.
"Being a part of the euro area brings more security to our citizens in this crisis. We have diligently worked on this project as we firmly believe that it is in Croatia's national interest to enter the euro area."
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