The Croatians are experiencing quite a nasty surprise: After joining the EU at the beginning of the year, the country has now also introduced the euro – as a result, prices are going up steeply. Many Croatians are venting their anger on social media.
The Croatians are already struggling with inflation and rising energy prices. Since the New Year, the prices for groceries, service providers, coffee and other goods have also skyrocketed.
Many Croatians complain about this online, as Croatian outlets reported. Croatian Economics Minister Davor Filipovic reacted promptly and promised government measures. Until January 14, one can still pay with kuna in Croatia, after that the euro will be the national currency.
KLJUČ Hrvatske, the recently founded party of the former bricklayer and MEP Ivan Sinčić, commented on the introduction of the euro on Facebook. Sinčić has long been against the introduction of the euro, and his party supports this position.
“Information has appeared in the media that Croats want and expect Croatian paper euro banknotes. Not only are there no Croatian euro banknotes, which is a minor problem, but we are not aware that we have given up our currency without any resistance and that we are handing over our monetary sovereignty to someone else.
“So, apart from these rampant price increases on the market […] now that the euro has been introduced, we believe that citizens will have an even bigger shock when they receive their salary in a few hundred euros instead of a few thousand HRK in a few days.”