ZAGREB, 5 May 2022 - The right-wing opposition said on Thursday that Croatia was not ready to introduce the euro and that it would lower living standards, while Finance Minister Zdravko Marić talked about the benefits and said much had been done to reduce the negative effects as much as possible.

A number of regulations reduce the negative effects of introducing the euro on citizens and employers, from stimulating healthy competitiveness to including civil society associations, Marić said in a debate on the final proposal to adopt the euro as legal tender in Croatia.

The benefits are significantly bigger than the damage, he said, adding that the main benefits are the elimination of the currency and interest risks, a two-notch higher credit rating, and a lower risk premium.

Marijan Pavliček of the Sovereignists said entering the euro area at a time of the biggest financial uncertainty, energy crisis and high inflation was not wise.

He said this was not an economic project, but the prime minister's political project, that inflation was 7.8% and GDP growth 3%, that consumption dropped, while inflation and the deficit increased.

Božo Petrov of Bridge said all independent financial experts said Croatia was not ready for the euro. He asked how the government would guarantee that prices would not rise even more, that imports would not take over and wages fall.

Marić said it was difficult to accurately predict or guarantee something even in more normal circumstances.

Ružica Vukovac of For a Just Croatia said it was not a good time and that Croatia's economic problems should be solved first.

Ante Prkačin of the Democratic Movement said that by introducing the euro, Croatia would move further away "from the fate of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are subject to political terror."

On the other hand, Emil Daus of the Istrian Democratic Party said introducing the euro was a logical part of European integration. The problem is, will we be a strong economy and a functioning state with clear long-term goals, he added.

Boris Lalovac of the Social Democratic Party said the euro would have a positive effect on transaction and currency costs.

Zvane Brumnić of the Social Democrats said "our only chance is if someone else takes care of us."

Grozdana Perić of the ruling HDZ said the euro would make doing business more favourable and safer as well as facilitate investment, economic growth and higher living standards.

Marić reiterated that the Council of the EU's decision on Croatia's accession to the euro area was expected in July and that if all the requirements had been met, the euro would be introduced on 1 January.

He said Croatia met all criteria as last year's deficit was under 3%, the public debt-to-GDP ratio was reduced by seven percentage points and inflation was within the EU average.

Prices will have to be displayed in both kuna and euro as of 5 September.

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ZAGREB, 4 May 2022 - The best design for the national side of the 1 euro coin, chosen in a repeated competition, was presented at a meeting of the national council for the adoption of the euro as legal tender in Croatia on Wednesday.

The author of the design, student Jagor Šunde, received a HRK 70,000 reward for his work, while co-authors David Čemeljić and Fran Zekan each received HRK 30,000.

The Croatian National Bank (HNB) received 192 design proposals, of which 135 were considered in the first round of the competition, said HNB Vice-Governor Ivana Jakir-Bajo, who also serves as the chair of the Currency Commission and the Commission for the Selection of Design Proposals.

A jury of renowned Croatian artists and experts considered all the proposals received and chose the best five proposals without ranking them. In the second round of the competition, the HNB Currency Commission selected the best design and submitted it to the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the euro area member states.

On 20 April, the HNB was notified by the Council of the EU that the design submitted had been approved.

The minting of 1 euro coins and coins of other denominations with the Croatian national side can begin only after the Council of the EU approves Croatia's decision to adopt the euro as legal tender.

The best designs for the Croatian side of euro and cent coins were originally presented in early February. However, it soon turned out that the selected author of the 1 euro coin design with the motif of a marten had illegally used a photograph of a marten by a Scottish photographer as a template for his design. The author, Stjepan Pranjković, withdrew his proposal after which the HNB invited new proposals for the 1 euro coin design.

The Croatian side of the 1 euro coin will feature a marten motif, 50, 20 and 10 cent coins will feature an image of scientist Nikola Tesla, and 5, 2 and 1 cent coins will have the letters HR written in the Glagolitic alphabet. All coins will also have elements of a chequerboard in the background.

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ZAGREB, 16 Sept 2021 - The government on Thursday adopted a conclusion on amending 46 laws and 72 regulations until 15 July 2022  as part of the roadmap for the euro changeover process.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić informed the cabinet that in the last month, the competent agencies had itemized a total of 118 laws and regulations which should be amended within the national plan for the adoption of the euro.

The time frame for Croatia's admission to the euro area in 2023 thus entails the amending of the necessary legislation until 15 July 2022.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković recalled that three days ago, the European Commission Executive Vice President  Valdis Dombrovskis, who attended the 11th meeting of the national council for the introduction of the euro as Croatia's official currency, strongly supported the work and ambitions of the government and other Croatian institutions to join the euro area.

Last Thursday the Irish Finance Minister and Eurogroup President, Paschal Donohoe visited Zagreb and said that Croatia had made important and positive progress on the road to euro area membership.

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Much has been made, both in a negative and in a positive sense, of Croatia's intent to join the Eurozone and introduce the euro as its official currency. While the move has remained unpopular in the eyes of many residents of Croatia, a proportion of whom desire a referendum on the matter, the Croatian Government insists that it's a done deal and was part of the package Croatia has to agree to in order to join the European Union back in 2013.

Rumour has it that Croatia will not join the Eurozone for a good five years yet, but even so, some members of the government have itchy feet.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of July, 2019, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and Croatian National Bank Governor Boris Vujčić have made it abundantly clear, Croatia has just twelve months to meet the necessary requirements for the country's entrance into the Eurozone, a concrete move planned within the next few years.

Croatia will have just one year to fulfil its promises given in its pledge for entry into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, a kind of official ''lobby'' on the way to the introduction of the euro as the official currency. As was recently reported, a letter of intent for Croatia's full entrance into the ERM II was sent by Zdravko Marić and Boris Vujčić will be sent by the end of this week, which the Croatian Government is expected to authorise today.

Just what have the pair promised in their letter? It can be revealed that the letter contains promises to fulfil nineteen measures from six key areas. This was confirmed yesterday by Minister Marić after the session of the National Council for the introduction of the euro.

"In the letter, we have expressed our intention to enter the exchange rate mechanism, but at the same time, we put on paper, as an obligation, what we'll make sure is done over the next year. These measures concern the strengthening of the capacity and quality of the Central Bureau of Statistics, the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the improvement of the business climate, and the improvement of business conditions in Croatia through the further reduction of parafiscal charges and the area of ​​state property,'' the Finance Minister stated.

He added that Croatia's announcement of entry into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on Monday should be one of the topics of a regular Eurogroup meeting.

"The better we do our homework, the better and more positive the effects will be for all Croatian citizens," he added.

The finance minister reiterated yesterday that Croatia's entry into the ERM II is a step towards the introduction of the formerly problematic single currency, and Croatia will remain in that exchange rate mechanism for about two years, during which the Maastricht criteria will be tested.

However, not everything lies in Croatia's hands, when it comes to the entrance of a country into the ERM II, the existing members of the Eurozone and the European Central Bank have the final decision.

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When Croatia jointed the European Union back in July 2013, it agreed that it would eventually have to introduce the euro as its main currency as part of its accession to becoming a full member of the bloc. While many are concerned with the eventual introduction of the euro as Croatia's main currency, with a number desiring a referendum on the matter, it seems that Plenković is quite right when he says it's already a done deal.

The first official step in the process of sending the Croatian kuna to the history books has now been taken by the powers that be.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of May, 2019, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and Croatian National Bank (HNB/CNB) governor Boris Vujčić have requested that Croatia enter the Single European Banking Supervisory Mechanism, the first pillar of the European Banking Union, the primary duty of which is bank supervision, according to a report from Večernji list.

This is the first step of replacing the Croatian kuna with the euro, which could happen in five years.

The single supervisory mechanism is mandatory for all Eurozone member states. It is one of the last steps that Croatia has now taken before it officially requests the introduction of the euro as its main currency, abandoning the kuna, and entering into the European exchange rate mechanism, Večernji list writes.

Rather morbidly, this event coincides with the celebration of 25 years of the Croatian kuna, one of the few European currencies whose introduction is celebrated as a major historical and national event, yet in which citizens have little real confidence and in a country over which the euro still dominates.

While opposition among some members of the public remains strong, when it comes to savings and other financial practicalities of life, the euro has no competition in Croatia, just as German marks never did either.

If all goes well in not only Croatia but in the wider European Union ''family'', Croatia could introduce the euro during the year of the thirtieth anniversary of the introduction of the kuna - 2024.

If that doesn't occur, anything else could. It's possible that some of the sovereign and populist Croatian parties could seek and even succeed in launching a referendum, binding or otherwise, and convince citizens to reject the euro, which will force the government to stop the Eurozone accession process, but, that seems distant for now.

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