At the invitation of her Croatian counterpart, the President of the National Council Christa Markwalder visited Zagreb on 11 and 12 April. Her two-day stay included an official meeting and working lunch with the president of the Croatian parliament, Željko Reiner. Ms Markwalder also paid courtesy visits to Croatia's President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković and Foreign Minister Miro Kovač.
The agenda of these meetings included the pending extension of the free movement of persons to Croatia. Following Croatia's accession to the EU on 1 June 2013, the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU were automatically extended to include Croatia, with the exception of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP). Until the signing of Protocol III of the AFMP, which extends the free movement of persons to include Croatia, the Federal Council will grant the same quotas for Croatian nationals that would be granted with the signing of the protocol. This applies until a comprehensive solution is found to the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the EU, or until and including 9 February 2017 at the latest.
In the second half of the week National Council President Christa Markwalder took up the invitation of her Hungarian counterpart to hold official talks in Budapest between 13 and 15 April. During her stay there she had an official meeting and working lunch with the president of the Hungarian parliament, László Kövér, and with the chair of the parliamentary Hungary-Switzerland friendship group, Katalin Csöbör, and other members of the friendship group. Ms Markwalder also paid a courtesy visit to Hungary's President János Áder; had a working dinner with Hungarian Minister for Human Resources Zoltán Balog, who is responsible for healthcare, social affairs, youth, education, culture and sports; and spoke with Economics Minister Mihály Varga during a press conference for the world's largest food group, which is also Switzerland's largest industrial enterprise.
Ms Markwalder also addressed projects related to the implementation of Switzerland's enlargement contribution to the new EU member states. Hungary is among the countries receiving support under Switzerland's enlargement contribution. The support amounts to around CHF 131 million over a five-year period from June 2007 to June 2012. Project payments will be made until 2017. Ms Markwalder also paid a visit to a Swiss company and leading manufacturer of inductive and photoelectric sensors and gave a speech on 'Switzerland and Europe' at the invitation of the Centre for Democracy Research at the Andrássy University in Budapest and the Swiss embassy in Hungary.
The President of the National Council was accompanied by a parliamentary delegation including National Council member and First Vice President Jürg Stahl (SVP/ZH); members of the National Council Viola Amherd (CVP/VS), Balthasar Glättli (GP/ZH), Tiana Angelina Moser (GLP/ZH), Philippe Nantermod (FDP. The Liberals/VS) and Roger Nordmann (SP/VD). The delegation was also joined by Philippe Schwab, Secretary General of the Federal Assembly and Cédric Stucky, Foreign Policy Advisor.