Croatia becomes a fully integrated member of the EU
On Sunday, Croatia adopted the euro and removed dozens of border checkpoints to become the 27th nation to join Europe's passport-free Schengen zone.
Though Croatia joined the EU 10 years ago, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković helped urge along the economic management reforms needed for the Balkan nation of 4 million to officially join the eurozone, Politico reports. Speaking during the celebrations, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the new euro coin imprinted with a pine marten, from which Croatia's former currency, the kuna, derives its name, as "a symbol of the successful union between your national identity and your European destiny" and said the euro "brings macroeconomic stability and credibility."
Some, however, are critical of the nation's switch: "We will cry for our kuna, prices will soar," one pensioner in Zagreb told Al Jazeera.
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