EU chief celebrates ‘immense achievements’ of member Croatia

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — The chief of the European Union has visited Croatia to celebrate the “immense achievements” of the newest EU member nation. Croatia switched to using the euro and joined the world’s largest passport-free travel area on New Year’s Day. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Sunday with leaders of Croatia and Slovenia at the Bregana border crossing between the two Balkan countries, which became obsolete in the first minutes of 2023 as the Schengen Area was expanded to include Croatia. Croatia also relegated its national currency, the kuna, to history and changed to the euro, the common currency used by 347 million Europeans,