Croatia is adopting the euro as its currency on 1 January 2023. With Croatia, 20 EU member states and 347 million EU citizens will share the EU’s common currency.
From Sunday, 1 January 2023, the euro will gradually replace the kuna as the currency of Croatia, at a conversion rate of 1 euro for 7.53450 Croatian kuna.
The two currencies will be used alongside each other for a period of two weeks. When receiving a payment in kuna, the change will be given in euro.
The Croatian kuna joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism on 10 July 2020 and Croatia monetary authorities managed the currency with a fluctuation band of ±15% around 7.53450 since then.
The dual display of prices in kuna and euro became compulsory on 5 September 2022, and this diktat ends today.
Croatian authorities estimate that 70% of ATMs in Croatia will distribute euro banknotes from 1 January 2023, and the rest will follow within two weeks.
From 1 January 2023, Croatia has also become a member of the Schengen Area zone where 27 European countries facilitate free and unrestricted movement of people.
Ireland does not participate in Schengen due to open border links with the UK.
The Schengen area started in 1985 as an intergovernmental project between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and has expanded to become the largest free travel area in the world.
Since its accession to the EU in 2013, Croatia has applied parts of the Schengen acquis, including those related to the external border controls, police cooperation and the use of the Schengen Information System.
Checks at internal air borders in Croatia will be lifted from 26 March 2023.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen commented: “Congratulations to Croatia on this historic double achievement of joining the euro area and the borderless Schengen zone.
“The euro will bring great economic and social benefits to Croatia’s people and businesses. It will lower barriers for companies, reduce costs for importers and exporters – leading to more choice and better prices for consumers. Together with Schengen membership, adopting the euro will give an extra boost to Croatia’s crucial tourism sector.”
Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, added: “This New Year will be an unforgettable one for the Croatian people, as their country becomes the twentieth member of our common currency and at the same time joins the Schengen area.
“Perhaps no EU member state has made such an incredible journey over the past three decades – from the horrors of war in the 1990s, to EU membership in 2013, and now set to enjoy two of the most tangible benefits of EU integration. Čestitke Hrvatskoj!“
