July 30 (SeeNews) - The newly elected president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is visiting Croatia on Tuesday to discuss the country's upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU as well as its aspirations to join the EU's Schengen free-travel area and the eurozone, the government.
"The arrival of president-elect von der Leyen to Croatia, after her visits to Poland and France, is particularly significant because of the role Croatia will play in 2020 when it will preside the Council of the European Union for the first time," the government said in a statement.
Von der Leyen will meet prime minister Andrej Plenkovic, interior minister Davor Bozinovic, finance minister Zdravko Maric, foreign and European affairs minister Gordan Grlic Radman and regional development and EU funds minister Marko Pavic, the statement said.
Finance minister Maric has said that Croatia could join the eurozone at the beginning of 2024, after the country's authorities sent earlier 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 country hopes to join in about a year the ERM II, which 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.
Concerning the Schengen area, Croatia aims to enter it before the start of its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU in January 2020.
During his visit to Croatia in June, outgoing EC president Jean-Claude Juncker said he hopes to see a recommendation on Croatia's accession to Schengen by the end of his term in office at the end of October.
Croatian news daily Vecernji List reported over the weekend, citing unofficial information by the European Commission that Croatia has met all technical conditions for the Schengen entry and is expected to receive an official confirmation in the first half of September, after the Commission convenes for work following its summer recess.