CROATIA: Finance Minister Slavko Linic puts up EU sign and removes customs sign at Croatia's border with Slovenia, marking the country's entry into EU

Record ID: 859947

  • Title: CROATIA: Finance Minister Slavko Linic puts up EU sign and removes customs sign at Croatia's border with Slovenia, marking the country's entry into EU
  • Date: 1st July 2013
  • Summary: BREGANA, CROATIA ( JULY 1, 2013) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** CROATIA'S FINANCE MINISTER SLAVKO LINIC TAKING OFF CUSTOMS SIGN FROM WALL, SHAKING HANDS WITH SLOVENIA'S FINANCE MINISTER UROS CUFER AND HUNGARIAN ECONOMY MINISTER MIHALY VARGA EU FLAG BEING RAISED AT BORDER CROSSING EU AND CROATIAN FLAGS HANGING AT BORDER CROSSING PEOPLE APPLAUDING FIRST CAR CROSSING BORDER FROM SLOVENIA INTO CROATIA AS CROATIA BECOMES EU MEMBER CROATIAN AND SLOVENIAN CUSTOMS OFFICERS APPLAUDING CAR DRIVING AWAY CUSTOMS OFFICERS LOOKING ON FIREWORKS
  • Embargoed: 16th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Croatia
  • City:
  • Country: Croatia
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA2SUQUJIGT0ZT43H5X5OJUPWYG
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: As Croatia entered the European Union on Monday (July 1) at midnight the country's finance minister Slavko Linic took down the customs control sign on the Bregana border crossing with its EU neighbour Slovenia.
    The EU flag was hoisted at the crossing in the presence of Slovenia's finance and Hungarian economy ministers, ushering in a new era for the nation.
    Croatia formally entered the European Union on Sunday midnight (June 30), becoming the bloc's 28th member and the first new member of EU since 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria had joined..
    Although Croatia is not yet a member of EU's passport-free Schengen area, its membership in the bloc does mean relaxed border controls towards its EU member neighbours Slovenia and Hungary, as joining a single 500 million people market on Monday (July 1) has rendered customs control obsolete.
    Only the second ex-Yugoslav republic to join the EU after Slovenia in 2004, Croatia was heavily hit by the global economic crisis, and is now in its fifth straight year of recession.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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