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Croatia's changes in identity - 23rd January 2023

The youngest member of the EU, Croatia, has become the 20th country to embrace the euro as its currency. The erstwhile Yugoslavian nation is also the last one to become part of the Schengen Agreement, completing the country's integration into the bloc.

Amid relentless cost of living hikes, it's anticipated that the switch to the euro from the 'kuna' will guarantee a more stable economy for Croatia. Since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, non-euro countries such as Poland have unequivocally suffered greater inflation than euro counterparts like Spain, and inflation was 3.5 per cent higher than in eurozone countries in November.

Most experts are hopeful that Schengen zone membership will positively impact Croatia's vital tourism industry, which even now accounts for 20 per cent of the Adriatic nation's GDP. Most visitors travel overland and have hitherto been obliged to endure lengthy border queues, whereas these days, vehicles crossing from Slovenia or Hungary can simply sail through without having their passports checked. At the border, a brand new sign proclaims 'free passage' in Croatian, English, German and Slovenian.

The path to this point has been rocky, given that for almost five decades, Croatia existed as part of Yugoslavia, a communist state, and then fought a bitter war of independence. 20,000 people lost their lives in the tiny republic, with hundreds of thousands becoming displaced.

Whilst its recent past has been tumultuous, the country has fared relatively well in the last 20 years and in 2013 Croatia became the most recent member of the EU.

Human rights organisations have flagged concerns regarding the country's border with Bosnia, where according to activists, migrants and asylum seekers have encountered violence and abuse by Croatian border officials. Their tough stance may have appealed to the EU, since applications by Bulgaria and Romania to join the Schengen zone were vetoed over concerns about lax immigration policies.

Characterising the jubilant atmosphere in Croatia, one national newspaper headline read: "Fantastic! Phenomenal!" Meanwhile, interior minister Davor Bozinović announced, "We opened our doors to borderless Europe. This goes beyond eliminating border controls, it is the final affirmation of our European identity."

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