Skopje, 14 October 2022 (MIA) – The negotiations are an opportunity to reduce Euroscepticism through the grand return of the European Union here and in the region. This can only be achieved through greater visibility of the Union with its mechanisms, initiatives, reviews and structural funds. Citizens should feel the Union, not as a distant, impersonal bureaucratic body, but as their ally in efforts for a better life, here in North Macedonia, said President Stevo Pendarovski at the event "On the European Road: New Reforms, New Opportunities!" held in Skopje on Friday. President Pendarovski said the latest European Commission Progress Report comes at a time of growing Euroscepticism among Macedonian citizens due to the slow European integration. "During the past 17 long years of candidacy, we have witnessed many initiated but unfinished reforms and even more so numerous adopted and selectively implemented European laws. On several occasions, Macedonian citizens and their elected political representatives accepted difficult compromises, unprecedented in modern history, all in the name of the European future. More than once the enthusiasm of the people was fueled when it seemed that we were at the very gate of a United Europe. And almost always those expectations were betrayed due to demands and blockages that were not really related to European values. Internally, stalled European integration led to frequent political crises, polarization in society, partisanship of institutions, economic stagnation and the most difficult and painful mass emigration of young people," said Pendarovski. He adds that only continuity in negotiations can change this situation, whereas the possibility of future provocations by political entities with anachronistic views and unprincipled and non-European demands that interfere with identity issues is not excluded. "But in Europe, it should be clear to everyone that they will not find partners for such a dialogue here. We must not waste time and energy trying to soothe someone's guilty conscience. All potential should be focused on real and not on rhetorical reforms, because Macedonian citizens have been expecting that from us for a long, long time," Pendarovski said. In order to continue the negotiations, said the President, a national consensus on the constitutional amendments will be necessary, and we should enter into that endeavor carefully and without haste. This process should take place for as long as it takes so that we do not open new wounds in the fabric of the Macedonian nation. "In the negotiations, it will become clear to us that integration is not only about goodneighborly relations, but it is about a colossal undertaking for the transformation of the state and society that will require patience from all of us, but also sacrifices in many areas of our lives, especially those who are today privileged on various grounds. The ultimate goal is the construction of a functional legal state with an efficient judicial system," stressed Pendarovski and said membership negotiations will last for years and that all of us will be required to abandon our old habits and deliver results. In that sense, said Pendarovski, we should all make our own contribution, from the Parliament, which has a central place in the implementation of European legislation, through the Government, the President, the local self-government, experts from the civil sector to the media. "This is a serious process that does not tolerate improvisations. Every step we take will be followed, besides Brussels, by the best judge - the Macedonian public. Any abuse of this process for narrow party or personal interests will mean a waste of precious time, which we do not have, but, what is even more important, will mean an additional loss of the already low trust of the citizens in the state institutions. A state in which the citizens do not trust is certainly not a state in which they will want to live," said Pendarovski. According to him, the membership negotiations will be a stabilizing factor not only for North Macedonia but also a positive signal for the entire region. dk/ik/