Skopje, 19 July 2022 (MIA) - President Stevo Pendarovski wrote the following on his Facebook profile: "I extend my congratulations to all Macedonian citizens for the official start of EU membership. Despite all the challenges we've faced over the years, the citizens upheld their support for the fulfilment of our European agenda."

He adds that we're starting a new phase of political integration, to make us a part of the European family of nations, where "the Macedonian language will be one of the Union's official languages."

"Hard work lies ahead, as well as investing our overall societal and institutional capacities for the further phases of the accession process. Thanks to all who were part of the institutions working on the EU accession and put maximum effort into a successful European integration. Let's enable the European values of freedom, democracy, justice, diversity and prosperity to rule in our homeland," President Pendarovski wrote on his Facebook. dk/sk/