Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said Tuesday’s beginning of the European Union accession negotiations is a result of 17 years of difficult, important, significant and patriotic decisions and it is built upon the work and effort of all citizens of the country, regardless of their ethnic, religious or any other self-determination.

The work of a large number of leaders of the state since its independence, from the first president Kiro Gligorov, prime minister Kljusev, through president Boris Trajkovski, Crvenkovski and other prime ministers, ministers and leaders of the state, all employees of the institutions that worked on preparations for the Republic of Macedonia to start the negotiations, are included, Prime Minister Kovacevski said before the start of today’s intergovernmental conference in Brussels.

This, he added, is also the result of, as he emphasized, the great decision that the citizens made through their deputies in the Parliament in the past days.

He thanked French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and all other presidents and prime ministers of 27 EU member states that today the Republic of Macedonia is starting negotiations with the EU.