North Macedonia is facing an important decision whether, through the upcoming change to the Constitution, it will pave the way for the opening of chapters in individual areas, such as economic policy or the rule of law. And I am here to assure you that your country can continue to rely on the support of Germany on the way to the EU, but the country must continue with the reform agenda. The next difficult step is worth it for the road to Europe.

This was announced by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the joint press conference in Skopje with the host, his colleague Stevo Pendarovski.

I am well aware that North Macedonia was confronted with particular difficulties on its way to the EU, that people's trust in the EU was burdened by the Prespa Agreement with Greece. You gave an impressive example that it is possible to overcome long-standing deep differences, but of course only if there is political will on both sides. And for your pragmatic willingness to compromise to strengthen good-neighborly relations with Bulgaria, I thank you. I am convinced that this attitude will pay off in the end, it will be worth it, Steinmeier said in his address.

He emphasizes that this visit of his to North Macedonia takes place 15 years after the last visit of a German president, but it comes at a particularly important moment for the country. With the membership in NATO and with the current process for accession to the EU, Steinmeier added, North Macedonia has made a key decision for itself about the direction in which it will move, a decision for a future in peace and freedom and within a framework that will offer the the economy the best opportunities for development.

The German president also congratulated the beginning of the negotiations with the EU in July of this year and the signing of the Agreement with FRONTEX in the Macedonian language, assessing that it is a recognition of the role of North Macedonia as a reliable partner that is ready to take responsibility for leadership internationally.

It remains important that North Macedonia continues with its internal reform process. You said that this reform process will be continued and I want to tell you that your country can rely on the support of Germany in the future. We have always supported the EU perspective of North Macedonia, as well as the possibility of access to the Western Balkans, and we advocate for the admission of these countries to the EU. In a word, North Macedonia is part of the European family. With its culture and language, your country, I am convinced, will enrich the EU and will increase the diversity of this community even more, not only on the cultural level, North Macedonia will also enrich the EU, said the head of the German state.

He emphasized that he wishes that the accession process for North Macedonia would happen very quickly and that there would be no new obstacles, but the country's reform process must continue and you can count on the support of Germany.

Regarding how realistic the plan of the Macedonian Government is for the country to become a member of the EU by 2030, Steinmeier said that he could not predict that.

Will it be the year 2030, you have to understand, nobody can say that right now, neither the politicians from North Macedonia, nor from Germany, nor from the EU. No one can promise, but you should strive for it and the goal should be to strive to achieve this goal and it is present here. The reform process here in the country should move at the speed that is necessary in terms of accession to the EU, I hope that this will happen as quickly as possible, said Steinmeier.

When asked by a journalist how he sees the fact that "the Historical Commission is included in the accession negotiations", Steinmeier says that he already spoke about special conditions, that is, as he said, "special burdens" in the accession process.

Under those burdens, I think that this accession process was also in the past connected with many historical issues and dealt with them, while when we talk about accession to the EU, we are actually talking about issues of the present and about the common future in Europe, so I would just like to advise – that the emphasis should be placed in that direction, not to the past and not to look for new obstacles, Steinmeier said.

The head of the German state, in his address to the Parliament, called on the MPs to continue walking decisively along the path of the accession process.

- I am aware that the road to the European Union is anything but easy, that trust and patience in the negotiations will be burdened, but my plea to you MPs, but also to all the citizens of North Macedonia, is to continue walking the path of the accession process and that decisively, do not swerve in the last meters, said Steinmeier.

He pointed out that on July 16 of this year, the Assembly made history. You made, he said, the decision that was certainly not easy for any of you to vote on the protocol with Bulgaria in order to continue walking on the European path.

The protocol with Bulgaria and the necessary constitutional change, as he pointed out, affect the people of North Macedonia because it is about issues of national identity, Macedonian history, language and culture and that the citizens of the country determine what the Macedonian identity should look like today and how it should looks in the future. He added that this constitutional change is more than collecting political points and it is about more than party political or personal profiling.

The next difficult step is worth it for the road to Europe. I can assure you that we have great respect for your country as a result of your extremely bumpy road to the EU. Your country has proven political courage. The Ohrid and Prespa agreements show that your country manages what is the most difficult task in democracy in general, to conduct painful debates, to resolve debates and to accept compromises, the German president added.

In response to a journalist's question, President Pendarovski said that he is confident that if the negotiation process with the EU is not based predominantly on history, if it is based on real European criteria and values, we will complete those negotiations in record time.

I assure you, because I know the level of readiness of my country in terms of European integration - we have been preparing for these negotiations for 17 years, that is the longest period of preparations of any country in the history of the EU, Pendarovski assessed. We are the best prepared candidate for membership in the history of the EU. The teams for each chapter were made a decade and a half ago, said Pendarovski.

Asked about the constitutional amendments and the opposition's opposition to this happening under these conditions, without guarantees from the Bulgarian side that there will be no new vetoes, President Pendarovski repeated his position.

My position is that on the side of the opposition, which has the position we know against constitutional amendments and against the inclusion of the Bulgarian minority in the preamble of the Constitution, we can only discuss and convince ourselves. If it is true, if it is real that they declare that first of all the content of the request itself is not disputed or cannot destabilize the country and if it is true that they really want European integration, then I think that awareness should really work among them and vote for constitutional changes. Tomorrow, the day after, within a year, in a year or two, in democracy there is always a change of power, they will be in power and they will demand the same from tomorrow's opposition. Why wouldn't we finish it now if we all agree 30 years ago, when we have an absolute percentage for EU membership, previously for NATO. I think we should finish it an hour soon. It is in the interest of the state and the people, it does not matter who is in power, said Pendarovski.

Asked about the latest polls, according to which the support for EU membership is declining, Pendarovski assessed that his impression is that the main argument for a decline in Euro-enthusiasm in the EU is on the side of Brussels.

It is true that polls in the last 18 months both in our country and in our region show a decline in support for the EU. I would not like to exempt all of us who are local and regional political leaders, of course we also have a certain part of the responsibility here. However, my impression, my analysis rests on the fact that the main reason, the main argument for this decline in Euro-enthusiasm to call it support for EU membership is on the side of Brussels because in the past three-four, five or more years we objectively do not see that the European integration process is moving forward, Pendarovski pointed out.