Croatia, the European Commission and the euro area countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday 10 September in Brdo pri Kranju outlining the practical steps that will allow the Croatian authorities to start producing euro coins when the country officially joins the euro area in 2023.
The MoU allows Croatia to carry out all necessary preparations before and up to the actual minting of the euro coins. These include, among others, the selection of designs for the national side of these coins, the procurement and production of minting tools and coin test series, as well as arrangements for the distribution of the coins and the withdrawal of the Croatian kuna during the changeover to the euro.
“Before Croatia can adopt the European single currency, it must first meet all the Maastricht criteria and continue to make progress in the technical preparations”, said Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.
The Croatian kuna has been part of the Exchange-Rate Mechanism (ERM II) since July 2020 (see EUROPE 12525/4). Joining this mechanism usually takes 2 years and an additional year will be needed for the logistical preparations for the entry into circulation of the single currency in Croatia. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)