Munich (dpa/lby) - The Bavarian economy welcomes the introduction of the euro in Croatia and accession to the Schengen area as an important impetus for trade with the country. "Exchange rates, currency exchange, border controls - all of this will be a thing of the past from January," said Manfred Gößl, the chief executive of the Bavarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BIHK), on Friday in Munich. Not only tourists, "above all our economy will benefit from these simplifications".
Bavaria could soon import a lot of green hydrogen from Croatia. The country plans to build hydrogen plants with a production capacity of 70 megawatts by 2030, and 2750 megawatts by 2050. Hydrogen should then flow to Bavaria via pipelines through Slovenia and Austria. "If these plans become reality, Croatia will become an extremely important partner for our economy when it comes to securing the energy supply," said Goessl.
Today, Croatia ranks 40th among Bavaria's most important trading partners. The Free State mainly exports motor vehicles, vehicle parts, electronic components and food to Croatia and imports leather goods, electronic components and metal goods from there. Between January and October, Bavarian exports to Croatia increased by 15 percent compared to the same period last year to 638 million euros; imports also grew by 15 percent to 574 million euros. Almost 1000 Bavarian companies maintain business relationships with Croatia.
