The exact date when Croatia might replace its currency kuna with the euro will not be known before 2022, Governor of Croatia's central bank, Boris Vujcic, said on Wednesday, adding that "a strong campaign will be conducted in 2022 to inform the public of all the details."

Speaking at a conference in Zagreb on the effects of switching to the euro for small businesses, Vujcic speculated that “if the date happens to be 1 January 2023, we have only 14 months for preparations.”

“A law will be passed regulating the changeover from the kuna to the euro, and its main principle will be to protect consumers from price hikes,” Vujcic said.

“Based on the experience of all countries that have joined the euro zone so far, wages should increase more than prices. So they have seen an increase in the standard of living, and that is why the support for the euro in those countries is very high,” he said.

In other ex-communist countries where the euro has been introduced, the support for the currency is about 80 percent, Vujcic said, adding that this serves as “proof that the fear that the euro would bring lower living standard is unreasonable.”

Finance Minister, Zdravko Maric, explained that prices will have to be shown to consumers in both currencies five months prior to the official introduction of the euro and for one year afterwards. He added that the legislation related to the switch “should be adopted in the spring next year.”

He said that “based on current forecasts, the earliest date that the euro could be introduced is 1 January 2023.”

Although Croatia had joined the European Union in July 2013, it has remained outside the bloc’s passport-free Schengen Area and the euro zone – which currently includes 19 out of 27 EU countries.

The government led by Prime Minister Plenkovic is hoping to adopt the euro by 2023, even though Croatia’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 87.3 pct in 2020, way above 60 pct, the maximum set the Maastricht rules which need to be met by any country wishing to join the euro zone.