Croatia wants to introduce the euro
On its path to Eurozone membership Croatia has taken the important step of filing a formal application to join the EU's Exchange Rate Mechanism, or ERM II. Both Croatia and the EU will benefit from the country's conversion to the euro, some commentators believe. Others fear a long wait.
Common currency good for both sides
Both sides stand to benefit from Croatia’s official application to join the Eurozone, Jutarnji list comments:
“Although Croatia has been slower to approach the Eurozone than many countries that have joined it before us, doubts exist in Croatia about whether [introducing the euro] is a good or a dangerous thing. ... Now that a debate is taking place within the EU about its future without the British, and that debate is moving ever more in the direction of a multi-speed Europe, joining Schengen and the Eurozone has become imperative for Croatia. ... Croatia joining the Eurozone is also important for the EU, according to Brussels officials. It serves as proof that the Eurozone is still attractive for those who are not yet part of it, which strengthens the euro as a currency.”
Don't keep Croatia in purgatory for too long!
Owing to the lack of reforms Croatia may end up waiting as long as Lithuania and Latvia did for the introduction of the euro, Novi list fears:
“The letter of intent on the introduction of the euro obliges Croatia to implement 19 reforms in six areas. ... Croatia may have got off to a very ambitious start on its path to the euro but it hasn't begun any reforms. And since we're also heading for elections and during election campaigns spending tends to go up rather than down (and any hint of reform is stopped), the country is facing the same fate as Lithuania and Latvia. In the waiting room for the euro these two countries went through a kind of purgatory in which you give up your national currency without yet having introduced the euro - for eight and ten years, respectively.”