Croatia rings in New Year as fully integrated EU member January 1, 2023 Croatia celebrates the New Year as an integral member of the European Union<br /> January 01, 2023 Creation time: 02:36 PM Last update: 02:36 PM Views: 30 Zagreb Jan. 1 (U.S.): At midnight Saturday, Croatia switched to Europe’s common currency, the euro, and removed dozens of border checkpoints to join the world’s largest passport-free travel zone. It was a fresh start for the tiny Balkan nation of 4 million that captured international attention three decades ago as the site of a brutal war that left nearly a quarter of its economy in ruins. Joining Europe’s identity-free Schengen area means Croats will now be among the nearly 420 million people free to roam its 27 member states without passports for work or leisure, according to the Associated Press. Likewise, adopting the euro would provide Croatia with the benefits arising from deeper financial relationships with 19 other users of the currency and with the European Central Bank. It will also make traveling and doing business easier, removing the hassle of exchanging currency for Croats traveling abroad and for the tens of thousands of tourists who visit their country every year on business or to enjoy the stunning Adriatic coast. As revelers across Croatia take to the streets to celebrate the New Year, the country’s interior minister, Davor Bozinovic, was at the Bregana border crossing with Slovenia to wish good luck to the last travelers checking their passports there. Slovenia has been part of the Schengen Area and is mandated to protect its external borders since 2007. Now, Croatia will take over, continuing to enforce strict border controls on its eastern border with its non-EU neighbours, Bosnia and Serbia and Montenegro. insignificant Source link Related READ MORE HM King congratulates Chinese President on Chinese New Year
January 01, 2023 Creation time: 02:36 PM Last update: 02:36 PM Views: 30 Zagreb Jan. 1 (U.S.): At midnight Saturday, Croatia switched to Europe’s common currency, the euro, and removed dozens of border checkpoints to join the world’s largest passport-free travel zone. It was a fresh start for the tiny Balkan nation of 4 million that captured international attention three decades ago as the site of a brutal war that left nearly a quarter of its economy in ruins. Joining Europe’s identity-free Schengen area means Croats will now be among the nearly 420 million people free to roam its 27 member states without passports for work or leisure, according to the Associated Press. Likewise, adopting the euro would provide Croatia with the benefits arising from deeper financial relationships with 19 other users of the currency and with the European Central Bank. It will also make traveling and doing business easier, removing the hassle of exchanging currency for Croats traveling abroad and for the tens of thousands of tourists who visit their country every year on business or to enjoy the stunning Adriatic coast. As revelers across Croatia take to the streets to celebrate the New Year, the country’s interior minister, Davor Bozinovic, was at the Bregana border crossing with Slovenia to wish good luck to the last travelers checking their passports there. Slovenia has been part of the Schengen Area and is mandated to protect its external borders since 2007. Now, Croatia will take over, continuing to enforce strict border controls on its eastern border with its non-EU neighbours, Bosnia and Serbia and Montenegro. insignificant
