The Western Balkans is of strategic significance for Germany and I am committed to its European Union accession. Germany is serious when it comes to the Euro-integration of regional countries, and this is especially true for Macedonia. EU has given its promise to Macedonia and the country has met all prerequisites for the start of the accession negotiations, said visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Skopje on Saturday.

The German Chancellor stressed that he was delighted with the political force that, as he said, made it possible to reach an agreement with Greece. Therefore, as he said, the rest of the task should succeed as well and that is something for which the citizens of Macedonia and the Government worked hard. Now, Scholz stressed, we need to make every effort.

According to him, Macedonia has fulfilled all prerequisites and expressed commitment to the next step.

The accession negotiations should start and I will commit myself to that. I encourage you to continue on the path of reform, Scholz said.

The bilateral relations between the two countries, as he assessed, are not only political, but also economic, diverse and close. That, as he said, is an additional reason why Germany supports Macedonia on its path to the EU.