June 17 (SeeNews) - The group of euro area finance ministers said it has recommended that Croatia adopt the euro as of January next year as its 20th member.
“On the basis of the convergence reports that were presented to us, the Eurogroup has now recommended that Croatia adopt the euro from 1 January 2023. I look forward to this recommendation being formally adopted tomorrow by the Ecofin Council,” the head of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe said in a statement late on Thursday following a Eurogroup meeting held in Luxembourg.
This recommendation is “a very clear signal regarding the strength of the euro area and its growing membership,” he added.
On June 1, the European Commission and the European Central Bank gave positive assessments of Croatia's progress towards euro adoption as of the beginning of next year.
Croatia, together with Bulgaria, joined the exchange rate mechanism (ERM II), seen as the training grounds for the euro adoption, and the EU's banking union, on July 10 2020.
The European Union's Council will make the final decision on the adoption of the euro in Croatia in the first half of July this year, following the necessary procedures and discussions in the Eurogroup and in the European Council, and after the European Parliament has given its opinion.