Croatia takes final steps into EU with open border and euro switch

Common currency was already used for valuations and bank deposits in former Yugoslav country, which joined the EU in 2013

Croatia has adopted the euro and joined the European Union's borderless Schengen zone, two steps that its prime minister said represented a historic moment.

Nothing is the same after this," said Andrej Plenkovi, promising that joining the euro would better protect Croatians from financial crises, and joining the Schengen zone would make travelling easier and boost tourism.