Before the start of a formal debate in the parliament on the government's proposal for the introduction of the euro as the official currency in Croatia, two parliamentary groups expressed their opposition to the proposal.

Croatia is not ready to join the euro zone. Do not wander into the fog, Marijan Pavlicek of the right-wing Sovereignists parrty (HS) told Finance Minister Zdravko Maric.

“Conduct structural reforms. Bring some order to public finances and then when we stand on our own feet, let the people decide in a referendum,” Pavlicek added.

Miroslav Skoro (ZPH) claimed that the Croatian economy is not ready to enter the euro zone.

On the other hand, the leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) Kreso Beljak spoke in support of adopting the euro.

“That is the last stop on the Euro-Atlantic integration journey, and that is something we wanted back in 1990 already, and something we will all benefit from,” he said.

Dario Zurovec (Fokus) too appealed to his colleagues to consider the benefits of the euro. “These are times of an unstable market when the price of raw materials and energy are jumping. We need a stable currency and the euro is the second-most stable currency in the world,” he underscored, and recalled that Croatians already keep their savings in euros and that the price of real estate and cars are often displayed in euros.

“This is a natural course,” said Zurovec ahead of a first reading of the bill on introducing the euro as legal tender in Croatia.