Welcoming participants in what he described as a prominent gathering, Sanader said that European peoples had the right to a future without wars, a future of peace and prosperity for all its citizens.
"That is why the project of the European Union is of exceptional importance for all European peoples and we want to be part of it because the project of united Europe cannot be completed if all countries are not part of such a Europe, on condition that they accept and implement standards that are valid in Europe."
That is why it is not enough only to apply the acquis communautaire in a country's legislation, it is important to live by it, Sanader added.
"If we expect the start of the talks with the EU, that means that we are confident that Croatia today lives by European standards," the PM said.
The EU has so far shown that it cares about every part of the common European continent, which is a project worth fighting and working for, regardless of Euro-skepticism, which is a legitimate political approach that exists in Croatia as well as in other countries, Sanader said.
He expressed hope that the newly established commission, which is to meet soon, would open a dialogue in which Croatia would prove that it was a law-based state, respecting its laws and international obligations, including those on cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
"There is a consensus in Croatia that full cooperation with the Hague tribunal is a condition which must be met," he said.
"We expect the talks to start and Croatia to become one of those countries that will give their contribution to the common European future and benefit from Europe, just as we expect Europe to benefit from Croatia," Sanader said at the end of his address.
The EU has shifted its attention to South-East Europe because that region can bring stability and potential to Europe, said the president and founder of the Crans Montana Forum and the World Summit in Monaco, Jean Paul Carteron, who chaired the event.
This requires the stability of democratic institutions, the fight against corruption and openness to the idea of European unity, he said.
The world is open, borders do not matter any longer, everybody wants to live in prosperity and peace, and that means primarily tolerance and cooperation, Carteron stressed.
Croatia needs Europe, but Europe also needs Croatia, as well as all other countries in the region, to successfully complete the structure it has started to build, said Carteron.
The European commissioner for education and culture and Slovakia's former chief negotiator in talks with
the EU, Jan Figel, spoke about the need for neighbouring countries to cooperate, recalling the very good experiences of all countries that participated in the Visegrad Group in the period before their accession to the EU. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said that regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations were his government's absolute priorities.
"We all want to be in the EU already tomorrow, and regional cooperation will not end then," said Labus, adding that Serbia fully supported Croatia's speedy accession to the EU.
Stating that problems the EU was facing were "understandable", Labus nevertheless called for accelerating the process of integration of South-East European countries, adding that cooperation and speedy integration with the EU would contribute to stabilising the entire region.