As of 1 January 2022, Croatian nationals will have the same status as citizens of other European Union member states on the Swiss labour market, which will provide fresh impetus to Croatian-Swiss relations, it was said at a meeting of the two countries' foreign ministers in Bern on Tuesday.

The Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlic-Radman, was on a working visit to the Swiss Confederation where he met with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said in a press release.

Grlic-Radman welcomed the decision by the Swiss Federal Council of 1 October 2021 under which, after applying Protocol III to the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons for five years, Switzerland will not request a further extension of the transitional period during which the access of Croatian nationals to the Swiss labor market was restricted.

In that way,  as of 1 January 2022, Croatian nationals will have the same status as citizens of other European Union member states on the Swiss labor market, which will provide fresh impetus to Croatian-Swiss relations, the press release said.

Grlic-Radman emphasized the good and friendly relations between Croatia and Switzerland, firmly anchored in European values, noting that the Croatian community in Switzerland also contributed to this.

He thanked Cassis for the donation of 20 fully equipped mobile residential units and 12 sanitary containers for the earthquake-devastated Banija region of central Croatia. In this regard, the possibility of further cooperation between the two countries’ civil protection services was mentioned.

The two ministers expressed their mutual satisfaction with the ongoing implementation of the Swiss-Croatian cooperation program, which will continue to be carried out through various projects until the end of 2024 and thereafter, once Switzerland pays its financial contribution to the EU cohesion policy.

The meeting also focused on EU-Swiss relations, migration, the situation in southeastern Europe and Ukraine, the possibilities of further strengthening cooperation in multilateral formats, and increasing economic cooperation and investment.

Another topic discussed was regulating the work status of teachers of Croatian-language classes in Switzerland. “Croatian classes are of vital importance for maintaining and fostering the linguistic, cultural and national identity of younger generations of Croatian emigrants in Switzerland,” Grlic-Radman said.

During his visit, the Croatian minister also met with representatives of the Croatian expat community in Switzerland.

“The 30th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations next year will be an opportunity to further deepen and expand Swiss-Croatian bilateral relations,” Grlic-Radman said.