Iohannis: No more work restrictions for Romanians in Switzerland from May 2019

Newsroom 01/11/2018 | 14:47

President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday stated that after May 2019 there would be no restrictions on the Swiss labor market for Romanian citizens. The President welcomed his Swiss counterpart, Alain Berset, at the Cotroceni Palace.

“Naturally, this matter is of great interest to me and I wanted to know the President’s opinion about these things, I wanted to hear more in-depth what was the motivation to come back to a quota and I wanted to hear from Mr. President how the Romanian community is actually seen in Switzerland, because we remember that there were periods when these things were discussed in a tone that we did not like in other countries. The conclusion is a very good and very positive one. Switzerland, for purely technical reasons, had to return to this – not to call it restriction – to these quotas and to the conditions in which it was confirmed that the discussions in Swiss society about Romanians living there are very positive,” said Iohannis at a joint press conference with his Swiss counterpart, Alain Berset, on the extension of the safeguard clause.

The President of the Swiss Confederation has confirmed that there will be no restriction for Romanian citizens starting next year.

“When Romania joined the EU, it also integrated the system of free movement and Switzerland has long agreed on the free movement of citizens. At the time of accession, we had to make a decision to extend this free movement to Romanian citizens, something we did, but in our country a popular vote was needed because we are a direct democracy and here the vote was positive to widen this right of free movement among our countries. In the debates that took place, the discussion was also about the way in which this free movement was to be implemented in a practical way, so that the transition would be as easy as possible,” explained Berset.

In April of this year, the Swiss Federal Council decided to extend the safeguard clause applicable to Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, provided for in Protocol II to the EU-Switzerland Agreement on the free movement of individuals.

This measure, issued at that time by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, is valid for one year until 31 May 2019 and cannot be renewed, and is aimed at issuing new “B” residence permits (staying between 1 and 5 years). The measure does not restrict the issuance of L-type permits (staying for under one year) nor the extension of “B” type licenses already issued.

According to the 1999 Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union on the Free Movement of Persons (ALCP), extended to Romania and Bulgaria on 1 June 2009 through Protocol II thereto, the access of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens to the Swiss labor market was allowed in the limit of 7 years (2 years + 3 years + 2 years from 2009 to 31 May 2016).

The period of maintaining restrictions on the labor market ended on 31 May 2016, when Switzerland liberalized the movement of Romanian and Bulgarian workers. According to the Protocol, for the last time, on June 1, 2018, the Swiss government was able to activate a safeguard clause (letter D) of the Protocol to Art. 10.4 of the ALCP.

Switzerland applied the measure in 2012 for new Member States and in 2013 for all EU Member States.

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