OUR Croatian take today Euro and joined the space Schengenwhich allows for the free movement of people and goods, two important milestones for the small Balkan country that joined the European Union about a decade ago.

At midnight on Saturday (local time; 01:00 Greek time), Croatia said goodbye to its currency, the kuna, and became the 20th member of the eurozone.

It also became the 27th state to join the Schengen Area, a vast area where more than 400 million people can move freely without being subject to internal border checks.

In a sense, this is just a formalization of a situation that has de facto existed for years, since Croatia’s economic ties with the Eurozone have long been strong.

50% of its foreign trade is with the eurozone countries, from which 2/3 of foreign direct investment comes to its territory and 70% of its tourists. At the same time, 50% of deposits are in euros, as are 60% of loans.

As highlighted in a related report by the Financial Times, the addition of another country to the eurozone will provide a symbolic boost to European unity at a time when Russia is trying to create cracks in the front against it.

ECB President Christine Lagarde described Croatia’s accession as a “vote of confidence in the eurozone”, while predicting that the country would benefit from the “Euroshield”.

^{According to AFP, APE-MPE}