In 2020, Croatia took over the EU-Council Presidency for the first time. By then, the country had already been an EU member for a few years. On 1 January 2023, the Euro was introduced in Croatia and the country joined the Schengen area. For the Croatian Ambassador to Germany H.E. Gordan Bakota, these are necessary steps to be a full member of the EU family.
“All countries that fulfil the conditions should belong to Schengen. Especially in the current geostrategic situation, solidarity is needed,” Ambassador H.E. Gordan Bakota told the Neue Passauer Presse in January. There has always been a clear majority in the Croatian population for joining the Schengen area and introducing the euro, he said, as well as for the view of the EU as an alliance of peace and values. “We therefore hope that Romania and Bulgaria will soon join as well,” the ambassador said. “Showing unity is, in our view, an important response to Russian aggression.”
Incentive for other countries
“Our success is an important message for the countries in the Western Balkans, also for Ukraine and Moldova, which are also striving towards Europe and now know that they have to continue on their way. It shows that the EU remains strong and attractive,” said the Croatian ambassador.
Tourism
Bakota is convinced that the introduction of the euro will have a positive effect on tourism: “We already had a super year in 2022 with more than three million tourists from Germany. And Schengen and the euro will make travelling, but also business, even easier,” says H.E. Gordan Bakota in an interview with the newspaper. The Croatian National Tourist Board has two offices in Germany, in Munich and Frankfurt am Main. Croatia will also be represented at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin in March.