Croatia is now prepared to make the most of its standing as an EU member in the Western Balkans, more than nine years after becoming the EU's newest member.
According to the most recent rumours, Croatia will begin using the euro as its official currency on January 1 and joining the Schengen Area, a region of Europe where visas are not required for travel.
The 4 million-person small country's officials believe that this most recent development will go down in history as one of the nation's greatest triumphs since it earned independence from Yugoslavia 31 years ago.
With the latest event, the country will probably experience economic gains as a result of closer financial relations with the 19 other users of the currency and the European Central Bank.
Additionally, it implies that the 340 million residents of the existing euro zone will no longer need to convert their money into Croatian Kuna before entering the nation famous for its breathtaking Adriatic coastline.
Andrej Plenkovic, the prime minister of Croatia, referred to this in his subsequent statement, saying, "After ten years of membership (in the EU), we consciously and justifiably achieved the stage where we would become the first nation in history to join the Schengen and eurozones on the same day.
