Croatia's accession to the EU has confirmed that the enlargement process resumes and at the same time Macedonia has gained an extra vote in Brussels, it was stressed at Tuesday's debate "Croatia's Accession to the EU - the Perspectives of Macedonian-Croatian Relations" organised in Skopje by the Foreign Ministry's Geostrategic Research and Foreign Policy Institute.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Poposki in his keynote speech said that Macedonia had gained a great ally, "a country that has crossed the same path, faced similar challenges and eventually reached its final destination."

"It is an important fact that now we have an extra vote. Another country from the region joined the EU which understands the challenges here, knows what we are going through because it has had a similar experience. For Macedonia this is only a plus," Poposki said.

Croatia's Ambassador to Macedonia Zlatko Kramaric also agreed that Croatia was Macedonia's friend that would do everything in its power to help the country on its road to the EU.

"We believe that peace and stability in the region are vital for Croatia and the EU. We foster excellent relations and we are ready to share all of our experiences with Macedonia," stated the Ambassador.

Croatia's stance involving the name issue hasn't been changed, according to the Croatian Assistant Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Hrvoje Marusic.

"We think that bilateral issues must remain bilateral and must not be incorporated into the accession process," Marusic said.

The EU Ambassador to Macedonia Aivo Orav said that in spite of the euroscepticism, it had been proven with Croatia's integration into the Union as the 28th member country that the enlargement process was continuing.

"The EU will not be complete until all countries in the region become fully-fledged members," Orav noted.

The debate brought together officials of several governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations and diplomats.