Introduction of the euro in Croatia

The name of the issuing country "HRVATSKA" and year of issue "2023" centred horizontally, with the inscription "ČLANICA EUROPODRUČJA" (Member of the euro area) arcing in a semicircle along the inner ring. Together the two inscriptions visually form a stylised euro sign "€". On the right, the chequered pattern — a readily recognisable symbol of Croatia and part of its coat of arms.

When Croatia introduced the euro on 1 January 2023, it completed the final major step in a decades-long process of rapprochement with the European Union. The country had first been drawn into a bloody war following its 1991 declaration of independence from Yugoslavia, yet had oriented itself toward a European future early on: Zagreb submitted its EU membership application in 2003, and Croatia joined the Union in 2013 as its most recent member to date. The path into the eurozone took another decade — the necessary convergence criteria on inflation, budgetary stability, and exchange-rate stability had to be met on a sustained basis. Admission to the ERM II exchange-rate mechanism in 2020 marked the decisive step.

The introduction of the euro replaced the Croatian kuna, which had been the national currency since 1994 and itself drew on a medieval coinage tradition. Croatia thereby became the 20th member of the euro area. Economically, joining the eurozone marked a considerable relief for the tourism sector, one of the mainstays of the Croatian economy, as well as for trade with other EU partners. Croatia has issued its own euro coins since 2023, including a 2-euro commemorative coin recalling this historic currency changeover.