"There is no chance of anyone in European structures attempting in any way to create a new entity like Yugoslavia or something else," he told the press on Saturday, also dismissing the possibility of creating a customs union of Western Balkan countries.
Sanader was commenting on interpretations following European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn's announcement and yesterday's presentation of a document on the creation of a Western Balkan regional free trade zone which would include Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania.
Sanader recalled that last August, knowing about the regional zone idea, he suggested not creating a new network but expanding the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) which, following the 2004 EU accession of 10 new countries, now includes only Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Under the expansion proposal, countries which wanted to join CEFTA and applied for it but did not meet conditions, such as full membership of the World Trade Organisation and EU entry negotiations, would be admitted to CEFTA early this year, said Sanader.
I proposed easing criteria so that Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, and Moldova could join CEFTA, he said, announcing that he would formally move to EU president Austria to put the proposal to EU bodies and that he would discuss this with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel today.
Sanader said there were actually two initiatives, one by the European Commission and the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, and the other by Croatia. The latter was adopted at a CEFTA summit last December, becoming the association's official enlargement initiative.
"I expect EU bodies to accept Croatia's motion," said Sanader, who thinks the two initiatives could merge.
He resolutely dismissed the possibility of a customs union of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania, but said there would be one between Croatia and the EU, announcing that next week the EU would start an in-debt analysis of the adjustment of Croatia's legislation with that of the EU, the so called screening process, for the chapter referring to the customs union.
Sanader recalled that the free trade zone would remain in force only until Croatia joined the EU. The sooner we join the EU the sooner we leave CEFTA, he said.
The PM underlined that there was no political threat to Croatia's political independence and that the Croatian economy would have a chance in Southeast European countries, Moldova and possibly Ukraine.
Sanader also said there was no fear that the regional free trade zone motion might slow down Croatia's accession to the EU.
It will become clear that Croatia enjoys full support and that no one even thinks about slowing it down, he said, announcing that EC President Jose Manuel Barroso and Rehn would visit Croatia in mid-February.
We will not be anyone's hostages in the region, the PM said, adding the EU had accepted this and that the principle was that the pace of Croatia's accession would depend on how much it cooperated.
Sanader applauded the communication strategy for enlargement's announcement that Croatia and Macedonia, as accession candidates, would be given the diagonal cumulation of origin which provides for export to the EU also if a Croatian manufacturer uses an element from third countries.
Asked about Serbia and Montenegro's proposal to the Council of Europe and request that Croatia give Croatian Serbs the rights of a constituent people, Sanader said Serbs are a national minority in Croatia, as are Croats in Serbia and Montenegro, and that the two countries had signed agreements on the protection of minorities.
"Everything else is an attempt at revision and going backwards," he said.