Skopje, 11 July 2022 (MIA) – We want North Macedonia as member of the EU. I want to be completely frank with you: even after accepting this compromise, the EU accession process will not be easy. There will be other obstacles that will have to be overcome. Nevertheless, I also say: together we will master the tasks ahead. Because we want you as member of this European Union, says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an address to the country, communicated by the German Embassy to Skopje. Chancellor Scholz says North Macedonia has again been faced with making a very important decision – accepting the European compromise and finally holding the first intergovernmental conference after 17 years of being a candidate for EU membership. “This will be an important step that brings you closer to EU membership and thus overcoming the blockade. I understand your impatience and your frustration. Even more, I share them! I understand when you say: we have been promised too much for too long. Too much was asked of us. I understand if you have any doubts as to whether this step really paves the way towards EU accession,” says Scholz. We all know, he says, that compromises sometimes mean painful concessions. And the European Union is made of compromises - day after day. But I firmly believe that even difficult compromises always bring us forward and make us stronger in the end. “We want you, dear Macedonians, as members of a Union in which your and our cultural traits, our different languages and our identities are preserved and cultivated. That makes us strong together. We are and will remain on your side,” underlines Chancellor Scholz in the address.