New Year’s Day at the Bregana border crossing: When Croatia opened its doors to Europe, it became the final affirmation of our European identity
Croatia joined the EU in 2013, but to adopt the euro the country had to fulfill a set of strict economic conditions, including having a stable exchange rate, controlled inflation and sound public spending.
It marked a fresh start for the small Balkan nation of 4 million people 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 ID-check-free Schengen zone means Croats will now be among almost 420 million people who are free to roam its 27 member countries without passports for work or leisure.
The last travelers to cross the border in order to go to Croatia for New Year’s celebrations should be sure to have their passport checked by the interior minister as he visited the crossing to wish them good luck.
Now, the task will be taken over by Croatia, which will continue to apply strict border controls on its eastern borders with non-EU neighbors Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro.
“We opened our doors to borderless Europe. This goes beyond eliminating border controls, it is the final affirmation of our European identity,” Bozinovic said after watching the ramps at the Bregana border crossing being lifted for the final time in the company of his Slovenian counterpart Sanja Ajanovic-Hovnik.
Mandic said he wanted to go to a New Year’s party and not have to wait at a border crossing, and decided to drive from his home to Bregana.
He said he came here tonight to witness the moment, the moment when he will no longer have to wait.
Croatia’s midnight currency withdraws from an ATM: a trip to Europe for the 31 years of independence from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia
Croatia’s finance minister and central bank governor left their homes in the middle of the night to withdraw euro money from an ATM in Zagreb to commemorate the demise of the country’s old national currency.
The New Year’s Eve developments were described by many Croats as proof their country has completed a difficult journey to the European mainstream 31 years after it fought a war for independence from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia in which 20,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
“We used to dream about this and I am happy that we lived to see it happen,” said Zlatko Leko, a resident of the port city of Split in the country’s south. I hope this means we become a part of Europe.
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The kuna can remain in use until January 15 and people who pay in euros will get their change in euros. The exchange rate has been fixed at 7.53450 kuna to 1 euro.
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said in a statement that she welcomed Croatia to the euro family.
What does that mean to visitors? It used to be that border crossing lines could be long on the road with Hungary and on the sea with Italy. However it also means that long-stay travelers who max out their 90-day visa-free travel in the Schengen area can no longer cross to Croatia to wait out 90 days until they can return to Schengen.