Sanader told the press after the talks he informed Solana of the preparations, the appointment of the negotiating team and the parliamentary committee set to supervise the negotiations, and of the Government's efforts to have all political parties reach a consensus on the negotiations.
Sanader also briefed Solana about the Government's intensified efforts to settle its only outstanding issue in the cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), that of fugitive General Ante Gotovina.
Sanader and Solana met in private. Solana did not address reporters due to previously scheduled commitments.
His spokeswoman Cristina Gallach told Hina that during the talks Solana underlined the importance of full cooperation with the Hague tribunal.
Gallach said Solana stressed that for the EU it was of the utmost importance that Croatia appropriately approached the issue of cooperation with the tribunal in the coming weeks. She added Solana also underlined the importance of preparations for the success of the EU entry negotiations.
David Daly of Ireland has been set as the European Commission's chief negotiator with Croatia. He and Croatia's chief negotiator Vladimir Drobnjak already met during talks on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA).
Officially, the chief negotiator with Croatia will be Fabrizio Barbasso, the Commission's enlargement director.
Croatia and the European Commission today harmonised the complex negotiating framework, exchanging information as to the composition of the negotiating teams. Further technical consultations will take place in mid-February, according to diplomatic sources.
The accession negotiations will take place on three levels, opening and closing on the official, highest level. On the mid-level about 500 people on the Croatian side will discuss with Commission representatives the integration of EU legal standards into Croatia's system, while on the third level experts will harmonise regulations.
According to unofficial sources, the Commission is satisfied with Croatia's preparations for the negotiations, although a document on the EU's negotiating strategy adopted last October underlines that crucial for success of the negotiations is the implementation of closed chapters.
The negotiations will begin with a combination of harder and easier chapters among the 36 announced today by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.
The easier chapters may be closed relatively quickly, while the more complex ones, such as agriculture, will be closed towards the end of the negotiations. If the closed chapters have been implemented, the entry negotiations could end in 2007, which would leave enough time for the ratification of the accession agreement in the Union's member countries and for Croatia's admission to take place in 2009, the incumbent European Commission's final year in office, as announced by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso earlier today.
Sanader and the Croatian delegation visiting Brussels -- European Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul, and Drobnjak -- today also held talks with Barroso and Rehn.