Vjesnik further said that Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, during his visit to Strasbourg on Tuesday and Wednesday, would receive strong support from members of the European Parliament, both Christian Democrat and Socialist parties, which want the accession talks with Croatia to start at the same time as those with Turkey.
In its Monday edition, Jutarnji List daily also quoted European diplomats as saying that this week would be crucial for making a decision on the start of negotiations with Croatia.
Hague tribunal chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte is scheduled to visit Zagreb on 30 September, and the EU task force for Croatia meets at the level of foreign ministers on 3 October.
According to Jutarnji List, if del Ponte positively assesses the implementation of the Croatian government's action plan, the Council of the European Union might decide on the talks on 3 October and the talks might start already the next week.
Another option, according to the newspaper, is to give Croatia a new time limit to ensure full cooperation with the Hague tribunal, and a third option is to maintain the status quo.
Jutarnji List believes that talks will not start if del Ponte again explicitly says in her forthcoming report that Croatia is not fully cooperating with the tribunal.
The newspaper noted that negotiations might also begin in case the assessment by the chief prosecutor is open to interpretation.