November 12 (SeeNews) - Croatia could join the Eurozone at the beginning of 2023 or a year later, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday.
"The time period, during which we at present estimate that we will be in ERM II, would be two and a half to three years, which means that the Eurozone entry, according to current estimates, could happen at the earliest in January 2023, or in January 2024," Plenkovic told an economic forum held in Zagreb.
A video file with his speech has been uploaded on the website of public broadcaster HRT.
The Croatian authorities sent in July a letter of intent to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), the first formal step towards adopting the euro.
The government in Zagreb has expressed hopes that Croatia will join the ERM II in about a year, while the whole process of joining the euro area is expected to take at least four years to complete, including the two-year mandatory stay in ERM II.
Last week, Croatia's central bank governor Boris Vujcic said the country could possibly join the Eurozone already in 2023, adding the entry conditions could be met by the middle of next year.
ERM II ensures that exchange rate fluctuations between the euro and other EU currencies do not disrupt economic stability within the single market. It also helps non euro-area countries to prepare for joining the euro area.
Croatia has also formally requested the establishment of close cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB) on the oversight of the country's banks under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), which is part of the steps it needs to make on the path to ERM II entry.
The Adriatic country aims to simultaneously enter into close cooperation with ECB and into ERM II.
Finance minister Zdravko Maric said in October that Croatia aims to cut its public debt close to the 60% of GDP threshold set by the Maastricht criteria for Eurozone countries by the end of 2020, from close to 75% of GDP at the end of 2018.
In addition, the consolidated general government surplus is expected to increase to 0.8% of GDP in 2022 from the 0.1% of GDP forecast for 2019 and the 0.2% of GDP planned for next year.