The Swiss government has given the green light for free movement of Croatian citizens, as a result of which Croatians will be treated as other European Union citizens in that country, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Davor Ivo Stier said on Friday.

"It took a long time to find a solution to this issue. Today the Swiss government has reached a positive decision and we welcome it," Stier told a press conference in Zagreb.

Switzerland on Friday passed a law aimed at curbing immigration by giving Swiss citizens priority in employment, thus bypassing voters' demand for quotas, as expressed in a 2014 referendum, which brought into question a number of bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU.

A majority of Swiss lawmakers did not want to risk a row with the EU, Switzerland's biggest trading partner, because the Union could retaliate by cancelling other bilateral agreements that facilitate trade worth about seven percent of Swiss economic output.

The adoption of the law cleared the way for Switzerland to extend free movement of people to Croatia as the newest EU member.