EC/Switzerland Agreement: free movement of persons; accession of Croatia to the EU. Protocol

The European Parliament adopted by 602 votes to 63, with 29 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of a Protocol to the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons, regarding the participation of Croatia as a Contracting Party, following its accession to the European Union.

Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Protocol.

The Protocol provided that for a period of 7 years from the entry into force of the Protocol, Switzerland may limit the access of Croatian citizens into the labour market (quotas, priority to local workers, control of working conditions and wages).

Further provisions are laid down to enable Switzerland and Croatia to maintain the controls on the priority of workers integrated into the regular labour market and the wage and working conditions applicable to nationals of the other Contracting Party concerned.

Croatia should be entitled to introduce the same quantitative limits for Swiss nationals for the same periods.