Slovakia joined the eurozone on Thursday, becoming the 16th member of the single-currency bloc with a population of over 320 million.
A celebration gala was staged across the midnight here in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, featuring firework show and concerts.
As of zero hour of Jan. 1, cash machines in Slovakia started to dispense euro notes instead of korunas, and all the koruna accounts were automatically transformed into euro accounts at a fixed exchange rate of 30.126 korunas against one euro.
In a symbolic act, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico drew euro cash from a cash machine close to the well-known Bratislava Castleat around 1:20 a.m. (0020GMT), symbolizing the official circulation of euro cash in the central European country.
The koruna, which has been in use since the Czech Republic and Slovakia split in 1993, will remain in use alongside with the euro for two weeks, but it will be withdrawn from circulation from Jan.16.
The central bank of Slovakia estimated that 188 million euro notes and 500 million coins would be needed to replace koruna cashin circulation and reserves.
Public opinion polls show usually cautious Slovaks welcome the switch, with about 58 percent in favor and 35 percent against.
Source:Xinhua
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