ZAGREB: Croatia's right-wing eurosceptic parties launched a campaign on Sunday to hold a nationwide referendum on whether the country should introduce the euro as its currency. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's conservative government aspires to replace the current kuna currency with the euro in January 2023.

But organisers of the two-week campaign, which will see street stands set up across the country, claim Croatia's economy is too weak to introduce the euro, arguing it would hike up prices. The initiative, dubbed 'Let's Protect the Croatian Kuna', was launched by the Croatian Sovereignists party and is backed by other small right-wing political groups.

The Sovereignists have four MPs in the 151-seat parliament. To hold a nationwide referendum, the signatures of at least 10 percent of the electorate - or more than 370,000 people - must be collected. "At the moment, the attempt is to introduce the euro by force without consulting the opinion of citizens," Marko Milanovic Litre of the Sovereignists Party told reporters Sunday.

"Prices will be rounded up upwards... it will be a major blow for Croatian citizens."

The government argues Croatians already accepted to enter the eurozone when they backed joining the European Union in a 2012 referendum, a year before joining the bloc, and the referendum on the euro is thus not needed. But organisers of the campaign claim that Croatia "pledged to (introduce) the euro, but not when and under which conditions".

Arguing for the introduction, officials say about 80 percent of bank deposits are in euros and Croatia's main trading partners are in the eurozone. The euro will notably decrease interest rates, remove currency risks and boost foreign investments, Plenkovic said recently.

Out of 27 EU member states, 19 have the euro as currency. An Eurobarometer survey earlier this year showed that 61 percent of Croatians support the switch to the euro. Croatia's tourism-oriented economy remains one of the EU's weakest. In July the average salary was 7,046 kunas.