The entry of his country into the euro zone and in the Schengen area on January 1, 2023 is the culmination of a long process started thirty years ago and “the realization of a dream”, rejoices Andrej Plenkovic, Croatian Prime Minister, in an interview with “world”.
words collected by Eric Albert (Zagreb, Special Envoy)
Andrej Plenkovic took an hour and a half late, but he rejoices. Thursday, December 8, in his office in Zagreb decorated with a huge Christmas tree, sitting in a large leather chair, the Croatian Prime Minister put his interlocutor, in Brussels, on the speaker of his mobile phone to hear the New: the interior ministers of the European Union (EU) have just officially accepted that Croatia joins the Schengen area on January 1, 2023, while blocking Bulgaria and Romania, which were also candidates. For this Francophone, who has been vice-ambassador of Croatia in France, and who has directed the Croatian government since 2016, this is a culmination. The disappearance of internal borders with the EU will be the same day as accession to the euro zone, which had been officially approved in July.
thirty years ago, Croatia was at war. Today, she is about to join Schengen and the Euro. What is your reaction?
This is the achievement of the objectives that the first Croatian president, Franjo Tudjman, clearly announced from his speech of May 30, 1990, at the time of the constitution of the first Croatian parliament elected in a pluralist and democratic way. Its objective was the entry of Croatia into Europe, in the broad sense. This is what we did after obtaining the status of NATO member countries in 2009, then of the European Union member in 2013.
When I became Prime Minister, in 2016, there was Schengen and the euro zone. We did a very complete job, meeting the 281 criteria necessary to enter Schengen. For the euro, there were very wide reforms to make, which covered the management of public enterprises, the fight against money laundering or macroeconomic criteria … This concomitant entry into Schengen and the euro represents a success.
the 1 er January, what are you going to feel?
It is really the realization of the dream that Croatia comes home. Here we are. Thirty years ago, Croatia was not even an actor of the international scene. Today, we are one of the fifteen countries which are at the same time within NATO, the EU, the Euro and Schengen. The only thing that remains is to become a member of the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development], which would be the icing on the cake …
So for the symbols. But what will it change for Croatia to be in the Euro and Schengen?
First, you should know that Croatia is already highly “Euro-Ideed”: more than half of our savings and more than half of our credits are in this currency. More than two thirds of our economic exchanges and more than two thirds of tourists come from the euro zone.
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