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The Associated Press

Croatia rings in the New Year as a fully integrated EU member

Croatia's Minister of Interior Davor Bozinovic, left, pushes a button to lift the barrier at the Bregana border crossing between Croatia and Slovenia, accompnanied by Slovenian counterpart Sanja Ajanovic Hovnik, early on Sunday. (Darko Bandic/AP)

ZAGREB, Croatia — At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, Croatia switched to the shared European currency, the euro, and removed dozens of border checkpoints to join the world's largest passport-free travel area.

It marked a fresh start for the small Balkan nation of 4 million people that captured international attention three decades ago as the site of a brutal war that left nearly a quarter of its economy in ruins.

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