October 30 (SeeNews) - Croatia has announced its intention to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) in 2020 as a step towards introducing the euro, the European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, said.
The Commission can help countries working on introducing the euro technically and financially, but the execution of structural reforms are crucial for successfully participating in the euro area, Dombrovskis said, as quoted in a statement by the Croatian government on Thursday.
Countries which intend to join the euro area should prove the resilience of their economies, while Croatia still faces some macroeconomic disbalances, Dombrovskis said during a meeting with Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenkovic and government ministers.
In May, the European Commission said on that based on its assessment of Croatia's legal compatibility and on the convergence criteria, the country fulfills all but one condition for the adoption of the euro. Croatia does not fulfill the exchange rate criterion because it is not a member of the ERM II., the Commission said.
Croatia's government said earlier it had adopted a strategy for the introduction of the euro and has established a national council to lead the process. Upon entering the European Union in 2013, Croatia committed to becoming a member of the euro area under the treaty on the functioning of the bloc.