Skopje, 9 September 2022 (MIA) – The American University of Europe-FON on Friday awarded Ilhan Kyuchyuk, member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for North Macedonia in the European Parliament, with honorary doctorate or Doctor Honoris Causa. Naser Etemi, PhD, president of the AUE-FON Senate presented him with the honorary degree, which Kyuchyuk received for his contribution to the Europeanization and creation of good policies and good neighborliness as president of ALDE and rapporteur for Macedonia for the European Parliament. At the awarding ceremony, Kyuchyuk said that The EU needs North Macedonia just like North Macedonia needs the EU. Every country becomes a full-fledged member with its own history and identity, and this will be no exception. He pointed out that North Macedonia chose to build a multiethnic society in which everyone can coexist. “The Ohrid Framework Agreement set the foundations for this coexistence, which became an example of a multicultural democracy. International partners appreciate this today. North Macedonia willingly chose the road of good neighborliness and friendship by signing the Treaty with Bulgaria in 2017 and the Prespa Agreement in 2018, opening the state’s road to NATO and the EU. Today, North Macedonia is a respected NATO member, and its road to the EU was opened only a few months ago,” Kyuchyuk said. Referring to the EU, he pointed out that every country enters the Union with its own history and identity, and that will be the case with North Macedonia as well. “The EU doesn’t melt differences, it lets them develop. Diversity is the EU’s greatest treasure. We Europeans need North Macedonia in the EU. Bulgaria and North Macedonia are so close, yet so far. Maybe this is the fate of those closest to one another, sometimes they’re far apart. The most common explanation for this is lost trust and lack of knowledge,” Kyuchyuk said. In his address, he pointed out that Europe is a continent of possibility, and young Macedonians should have access to all personal development programs. The co-owner of AUE-FON, Sefer Canoski, congratulated Kyuchyuk by emphasizing that this acknowledgment has been given to a young man whose potential displays European values every day. Canoski said that Kyuchyuk is an example of collective thinking for everyone’s benefit. “His empathy, hard work and effort that he invests in his career, motivated by honesty and openness even in difficult times, show that these are true values that always come to the surface,” Canoski said in his address. According to Naser Etemi, President of the AUE-FON Senate, as a member of the European Parliament, Kyuchyuk’s contribution to the promotion of AUE-FON in Europe is significant. "It was his initiative that the first conference titled ‘Civil contribution to building trust, unity and allyship’ was held in January 2022 at our university, so that a series of conferences for cooperation in education, culture and youth and civil initiative helps overcome differences and bring the two peoples and countries together. His support helped AUE-FON establish itself and accomplish significant international cooperation, especially with universities from Bulgaria,” Etemi said. Ilhan Kyuchyuk, he added, is a productive, respected and influential person whose activities not only help the European integration process of North Macedonia, but they also help the internationalization and Europeanization and development of the Macedonian scholar and civil community. Numerous guests, including top government officials and ambassadors attended the award ceremony, including PM Dimitar Kovachevski, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi, Minister of Defense Slavjanka Petrova, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski, as well as former PM Zoran Zaev. dk/ba/