The third in a row EC recommendation for opening of the EU accession talks is the greatest recognition of the positive course of Macedonia's EU-integration process and proof that it has been moving forward to the Union, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said Wednesday at a press conference.

Alexandra Cas Granje, Director, DG Enlargement B, handed over today the European Commission's report on Macedonia's progress towards EU membership to the PM.

Referring to the statement of Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, Gruevski sent a message to him, saying that exerting pressure on Macedonia will not help in settling the name issue.

It also refers to the strategy of exaggerating certain remarks in regards to the judiciary and public administration, along with the alleged problem with the freedom of expression, in spite of the fact that Macedonia has been conducting crucial reforms in these spheres for the last three years, Gruevski said.

Exaggerating of the remarks on the corruption policy, which has been hailed by the Transparency International - the country has gone up 43 places in five years on the TI list for its progress in this sphere, as well as the deliberate omission of the adjective 'Macedonian' -- all of these is not a help, but a hindrance to settling the main problem of our EU-integration - the one Greece is having with the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia, our identity, language, nationality that are Macedonian, Gruevski said.

"For three years we have been working hard on reforms, being at the same time blocked by an irrational, virtual dispute, which is not based on European values and standards that we, even under blockade, have been persistently meeting. Hence it is certain that we have invested not less but three times more efforts to succeed and remain committed to the EU-integration process," Gruevski said.

The Government respects the EC recommendations and will continue to work in line with them for grater achievements on the road to the EU membership, motivated above all by the citizens' support, the PM said.

"The Republic of Macedonia is moving forward and its success depends on our own potential and efforts," Gruevski said.