A negative scenario would strengthen anti-European forces and radicalism in Croatia, the PM said after talks with the leaders of parliamentary parties, and added Croatia must take the path of reforms. He said the path his cabinet was taking had no alternative.
Sander said this answering a question about a joint letter which he together with President Stjepan Mesic and Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks forwarded to European partners earlier today.
The letter includes Croatia's assessments of a positive and a negative scenario regarding the date of the start of the country's negotiations with the European Union, Sanader said. Also enclosed is the summary of a report forwarded to the ICTY Prosecutor's Office. The report, Sanader said, states steps Croatia took in the last month or two in order to solve the last open issue in cooperation with the tribunal in The Hague.
The PM said that in talks he held so far and those held in the last two days with seven or eight prime ministers, he promoted the interpretation that Croatia's full cooperation with the ICTY meant that the country was doing all that it could to solve the last open issue, namely the issue of general Gotovina.
The case must be solved and the solving of Gotovina's case will remain Croatia's obligation even if the negotiations start on 17 March, the prime minister said.
Sanader said he was a down-to-earth person but maintained a positive attitude about the date for the start of the negotiations. He added, however, that the situation was not easy.
The prime minister hailed the latest statements by European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.