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EU and NATO candidate country |
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Membership of the European Union is the highest strategic interest and
priority for the Government, an objective shared by an overwhelming
majority of Macedonia’s citizens and all political parties. Macedonia
was
the first country in South East Europe to sign a Stabilisation and
Association Agreement with the European Union in 2001 in Luxemburg.
Recognising the progress that Macedonia has made in meeting the
Copenhagen criteria, the European Commission recommended granting
Macedonia candidate country status for membership in the EU. On 17
December 2005, the European Council decided to grant the Republic of
Macedonia official candidate status for EU membership.
The Republic of Macedonia is an aspiring member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In the  closing
declaration from the NATO summit in Riga in 2006, Macedonia was
included in the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). The organization has
recognized the increasing contribution of Macedonia to international
peacekeeping and security operations as well as its effort to improve
regional cooperation.
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Macedonia 
