‘1b.   Switzerland may maintain until two years after the entry into force of the Protocol to this Agreement regarding the participation, as Contracting Parties, of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania quantitative limits in respect of access by workers employed in Switzerland and for self-employed persons who are nationals of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania for the following two categories of residence: residence for a period of more than four months and less than one year and residence for a period equal to, or exceeding, one year. There shall be no quantitative restriction on residence for less than four months.

Before the end of the transitional period mentioned above, the Joint Committee shall review the functioning of the transitional period applied to nationals of the new Member States on the basis of a report from Switzerland. Upon completion of the review, and no later than at the end of the period mentioned above, Switzerland shall notify the Joint Committee whether it will continue applying quantitative limits to workers employed in Switzerland. Switzerland may continue to apply such measures until five years after the entry into force of the aforementioned Protocol. In the absence of such notification, the transitional period shall expire at the end of the two-year period specified in the first subparagraph.

At the end of the transitional period defined in this paragraph, all quantitative limits applicable to nationals of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania shall be abolished. These Member States are entitled to introduce the same quantitative limitations for Swiss nationals for the same periods.’;

‘2b.   Switzerland and the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania may maintain, until two years after the entry into force of the Protocol to this Agreement regarding the participation, as Contracting Parties, of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, for workers of one of these Contracting Parties employed in their own territory the controls on the priority of workers integrated into the regular labour market and wage and working conditions applicable to nationals of the other Contracting Party concerned. The same controls may be maintained for persons providing services, as referred to in Article 5(1) of this Agreement, in the following four sectors: Horticultural service activities; Construction, including related branches; Security activities; Industrial cleaning (NACE (*1) codes 01.41; 45.1 to 4; 74.60; 74.70 respectively). Switzerland shall, during the transitional periods mentioned in paragraphs 1b, 2b, 3b and 4c, give preference to workers who are nationals of the new Member States over workers who are nationals of non-EU and non-EFTA countries as regards access to its labour market. The controls on the priority of workers integrated into the regular labour market shall not apply to providers of services liberalised by a specific agreement between the Contracting Parties concerning the provision of services (including the Agreement on certain aspects of government procurement in so far as it covers the provision of services). For the same period, qualification requirements may be maintained for residence permits of less than four months (*2) and to persons providing services, as referred to in Article 5(1) of this Agreement, in the four sectors mentioned above.

Within two years of the entry into force of the Protocol to this Agreement regarding the participation, as Contracting Parties, of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, the Joint Committee shall review the functioning of the transitional measures contained in this paragraph on the basis of a report prepared by each of the Contracting Parties implementing them. Upon completion of the review, and no later than two years after the entry into force of the aforementioned Protocol, the Contracting Party which has implemented the transitional measures contained in this paragraph, and has notified the Joint Committee of its intention to continue applying such transitional measures, may continue to do so until five years after the entry into force of the aforementioned Protocol. In the absence of such notification, the transitional period will expire at the end of the two-year period specified in the first subparagraph.

At the end of the transitional period defined in this paragraph, all restrictions referred to above in this paragraph shall be abolished.

‘3b.   Upon entry into force of the Protocol to this Agreement regarding the participation, as Contracting Parties, of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and until the end of the period described in paragraph 1b, Switzerland shall reserve on a yearly basis (pro rata temporis), within its overall quota for third countries, for workers employed in Switzerland and for self-employed persons who are nationals of these new Member States a minimum number of new residence permits (*3) according to the following schedule:

‘4c.   At the end of the period described in paragraph 1b and in this paragraph and up to 10 years after entry into force of the Protocol to this Agreement regarding the participation, as Contracting Parties, of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, the provisions of Article 10(4) of this Agreement shall apply to nationals of these new Member States.

In case of serious disturbances of its labour market or threat thereof, Switzerland and any of the new Member States which has implemented transitional measures shall notify such circumstances to the Joint Committee before the end of the five-year transitional period specified in paragraph 2b(2). In this case, the notifying country may continue to apply to workers employed on its own territory the measures described in paragraphs 1b, 2b and 3b until seven years after the entry into force of the aforementioned Protocol. In such a case, the annual number of residence permits referred to in paragraph 1b shall be:

‘5b.   The transitional provisions of paragraphs 1b, 2b, 3b and 4c, and in particular those of paragraph 2b concerning the priority of workers integrated into the regular labour market and controls on wage and working conditions, shall not apply to employed and self-employed persons who, at the time of the entry into force of the Protocol to this Agreement regarding the participation, as Contracting Parties, of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, are authorised to pursue an economic activity on the territory of the Contracting Parties. Such persons shall in particular enjoy occupational and geographical mobility.

The holders of residence permits valid for less than one year shall be entitled to have their permits renewed; the exhaustion of quantitative limits may not be invoked against them. The holders of residence permits valid for a period equal to, or exceeding, one year shall automatically be entitled to have their permits extended. Such employed and self-employed persons shall therefore enjoy the rights to free movement accorded to established persons in the basic provisions of this Agreement, and in particular Article 7 thereof, from the entry into force of the aforementioned Protocol.’;