Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said in his New Year message to the citizens of Macedonia that the country faced many difficulties and challenges in year 2007, noting that year 2008 would be more successful. He stressed that Macedonia received high commendation for its economic growth and the fight against corruption and crime, which, as he said, is a huge step forward with regards to the fulfilling of the obligations for membership in NATO and the EU. He admitted, however, that some mistakes were made in year 2007, stressing that they were fixed on time and that they were not of strategic importance. "Year 2008 lies ahead. Every year is historic for the Balkans. Considering that this year NATO is expected to enlarge with three new countries, including Macedonia, and bearing in mind that the Kosovo issue is expected to be resolved this year, it seems that year 2008 will be a year of major challenges and temptations. It will be a year when Europe and the rest of the world will focus on this region and Macedonia precisely because of the aforementioned reasons," Gruevski stressed. He said that he is prepared to accept all these challenges, the media report.