Croatia Adopts Euro, Joins Schengen: What Are the Pros and Cons? | DW News

Jan 1, 2023 | Croatia has dropped its currency the kuna to adopt the European common currency, the euro. The Balkan nation becomes the 20th member of the eurozone. Croatia had to meet strict economic conditions to join. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Zagreb to mark the occasion. Croatia also became the 27th member of the passport-free Schengen zone, which allows more than 400 million people to move freely through its borders.

Croatia Joins the Euro!

On 1 January 2023, Croatia will become the 20th member of the euro family!

Earthquake Hits Croatia with 6.4 Magnitude | DW News

A powerful earthquake has struck Croatia near the capital Zagreb. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre says the magnitude 6.4 event struck 46 kilometers southeast of Zagreb. According to official reports, it caused widespread damage, collapsing roofs, building façades and entire buildings. The tremors also prompted the precautionary shutdown of a nuclear power plant in neighbouring Slovenia. That region was hit by a slightly weaker tremor.

Hungary Plunges Europe into Further Chaos with SECOND Border Closure with Croatia

EXPRESS: HUNGARY will tonight permanently close its border with Croatia, plunging Europe into further turmoil.

A four-metre high razor-wire fence has been erected along Hungary's southern border with Croatia over recent weeks as the country continues its crackdown on the migrants entering en route to Germany and northern Europe.

Officials had said the frontier would remain open if European Union (EU) leaders could agree on a scheme to send security forces to Greece to stem the flow of migrants and refugees.

But the Hungarian foreign minister announced today that the fence would close at midnight local time (10pm BST). » | Tom Batchelor and Agnes Kegl | Friday, October 16, 2015

Croatia: Over 5,000 Refugees Arrive at Temporary Camp in Opatovac

Over 5,000 refugees poured into a camp near the village of Opatovac, after being moved by authorities overnight from a camp in Tovarnik, Tuesday.

Croatia: Families Divided as Refugees Struggle to Board Train

Hundreds of refugees struggled to board a train from Tovarnik to an undisclosed location after being left stranded at the Croatian-Serbian border town, Sunday. Authorities are not giving information on the destination of the trains.

Croatia: Scenes of Chaos as Hundreds of Refugees Board Westward-bound Trains

Hundreds of refugees crowded on to trains at Beli Manastir train station, Croatia, bound for Zagreb on Friday. The previous day at least 26 buses and one train brought refugees to Beli Manastir.

Slovenia Police Use Pepper Spray On Migrants At Croatia Border

People have been treated for the effects of pepper spray after police clashed with around 500 migrants trying to get into the country from Croatia.

HT: Jihad Watch »

Border Chaos: Over 15,000 Refugees Force Their Way to Croatia

Over 15-thousand migrants and refugees have crossed into Croatia after Hungary closed its border with Serbia. Overwhelmed by the influx, the Croatian government has closed 7 of its 8 border crossings with Serbia as well. It provoked desperate scuffles between refugees and police.

Croatia 'Will Not Become a Migrant Hotspot' Says Prime Minister

THE GUARDIAN: Zoran Milanović says refugees will be given food and shelter before being moved on, as country closes road border crossings with Serbia

Croatia can no longer carry the burden of the thousands of refugees and migrants who have entered in recent days, its prime minister has said, as he announced a new policy of moving people on, instead of registering and accommodating them in accordance with EU rules.

More than 13,000 people have entered Croatia from Serbia since Wednesday, following the closure of Hungary’s Serbian border. Croatia has closed seven of its eight road border crossings with Serbia, though people are continuing to enter through the countryside.

Zoran Milanović, the Croatian PM, told a news conference: “We cannot register and accommodate these people any longer. They will get food, water and medical help, and then they can move on. The European Union must know that Croatia will not become a migrant hotspot.”

In an echo of the language adopted by David Cameron earlier this month, he added: “We have hearts, but we also have heads.” » | Matthew Weaver and agencies | Friday, September 18, 2015

Isil Claim to Have Beheaded Croatian Hostage in Egypt

THE TELEGRAPH: Tomislav Salopek, 31, was kidnapped in the early hours of July 22 as his car left Cairo

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) loyalists appear to have murdered their first western hostage in Egypt.

Tomislav Salopek, 31, was kidnapped in the early hours of July 22 as his car left Cairo. He reappeared last week in a video released by the extremist group.

On Wednesday, a photograph showing what appeared to be Mr Salopek’s body was circulating on the social media accounts of Isil loyalists. The image could not immediately be verified.

The Isil-affiliated group, known as Sinai Province, had set a 48-hour deadline last Wednesday for Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to release female Muslim prisoners, warning that they would kill Mr Salopek if their demands were not met.

Isil sympathisers shared the macabre countdown on social media as the deadline expired. Several accounts carried images of knives alongside the message: “Croatia participated in the war with the Islamic State”. » | Louisa Loveluck | Wednesday, August 12, 2015

ISIS Threatens to Execute Croatian Abducted in Egypt: Video

STRAITS TIMES: CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt’s affiliate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group threatened Wednesday to execute a Croatian kidnapped in Cairo last month within 48 hours if Muslim women jailed in Egypt are not freed.

The man is the first foreigner to be abducted and threatened with death by militants in Egypt since an Islamist insurgency erupted two years ago.

In a video posted online by the militants, the Croatian identifies himself as Tomislav Salopek working for French company CGG, and appears kneeling at the feet of a hooded man holding a knife.

Reading from a sheet of paper, he says he will be executed within 48 hours if Egypt’s government fails to release Muslim women held in prisons.

Salopek, wearing an orange jumpsuit, did not say when the countdown began.

He said he was abducted on July 22 by the Sinai Province group, ISIS' Egyptian affiliate based in the Sinai Peninsula.

Formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the group changed its name when it pledged allegiance to ISIS in November. » | Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Croatians Vote to Ban Same-sex Marriage

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A strong majority in staunchly Catholic Croatia have voted to outlaw gay marriage in a referendum

A majority of Croatians voted in a referendum Sunday to ban gay marriages in what is a major victory for the Catholic Church-backed conservatives in the European Union's newest nation.

The state electoral commission, citing initial results, said 65 percent of those who voted answered "yes" to the referendum question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?" About 34 percent voted against.

The result meant that Croatia's constitution will be amended to ban same-sex marriage. » | Josie Ensor | Sunday, November 01, 2013

Croatians Vote to Ban Same-sex Marriage

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A strong majority in staunchly Catholic Croatia have voted to outlaw gay marriage in a referendum

A majority of Croatians voted in a referendum Sunday to ban gay marriages in what is a major victory for the Catholic Church-backed conservatives in the European Union's newest nation.

The state electoral commission, citing initial results, said 65 percent of those who voted answered "yes" to the referendum question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?" About 34 percent voted against.

The result meant that Croatia's constitution will be amended to ban same-sex marriage. » | Josie Ensor | Sunday, November 01, 2013

Croatians Vote to Ban Same-sex Marriage

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A strong majority in staunchly Catholic Croatia have voted to outlaw gay marriage in a referendum

A majority of Croatians voted in a referendum Sunday to ban gay marriages in what is a major victory for the Catholic Church-backed conservatives in the European Union's newest nation.

The state electoral commission, citing initial results, said 65 percent of those who voted answered "yes" to the referendum question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?" About 34 percent voted against.

The result meant that Croatia's constitution will be amended to ban same-sex marriage. » | Josie Ensor | Sunday, November 01, 2013