Croatia Sets 2020 Target for Entry to Euro-Area Waiting Room
- Premier Plenkovic says preparation measures to focus on debt
- Agrokor issues won’t impact Croatia’s euro-entry plan, he says
A view of Bana Jelacica Square and Zagreb Cathedral is seen in Zagreb, Croatia on Thursday, June 27, 2013. The European Union is set to cap nine years of eastern expansion with the July 1 addition of Croatia, which may prove to be the last ex-communist country to join the world's largest trading bloc this decade.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergCroatia bucked the trend of eastern European Union countries putting off their commitments to adopt the euro by setting 2020 as a target date to join ERM-2, the waiting room for the common currency.
The newest EU member plans to join the exchange-rate mechanism, where all new euro members must remain for two years to show currency stability, and it will focus on cutting public debt to ensure it meets the five criteria necessary to swap its kuna for euros, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in an interview in Tallinn, Estonia.