SKOPJE, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia defined on Tuesday the steps to follow towards the screening and preparatory work for the European Union (EU) accession negotiations, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said.

Zaev made the remarks at a press conference with visiting EU Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

Zaev announced the launching of the screening process towards opening EU accession negotiations.

"Today, with EU Commissioner Hahn we defined the next steps towards screening and preparatory work for the EU accession negotiations," the Macedonian prime minister told the press conference.

According to Zaev, the screening process will be led by the Government, but will also include the Parliament, the opposition, the judiciary and the civil society.

In his statement for the media, Hahn underlined that the door to the EU remains open for Macedonia and it is up to Macedonia to seize the opportunity.

"Thanks to the urgent reform priorities that the Macedonian government has been working on over the past year, the door to EU is wide open, but also on agreements on good-neighborhood relations treaty with Bulgarian and name agreement with Greece," said Hahn.

Hahn praised the resistance and endurance of Macedonian people and called them an example in the region and a model on how others should resolve bilateral problems.

The agreement with Greece, Hahn added, is a contribution to prosperity, peace and stability not only in Macedonia, but in the whole region.

Moreover, Hahn emphasized that Macedonian citizens should make the final decision, to exercise their democratic right and to vote in the upcoming referendum.

On Tuesday, Hahn also met Macedonian Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi. During the meeting Hahn praised the progress made and reiterated the strong support of the international community for Macedonia on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration and underlined the key role of the Parliament in the progress of aligning legislation.