Addressing, in his capacity as head of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), a gathering of the youth organisation of the party's branch in the eastern city of Osijek on Saturday, Sanader said that at the Luxembourg meeting Croatia would explain why it believes the EU should open membership talks with it.
The prime minister pointed out that Croatia's place was in the European Union and that Croatia had the potential to become one of the leading countries in this part of Europe.
He also said that Croatian people had made great sacrifice for the freedom and independence of their country and that "no one has the right to work on its disintegration," a critical reference to Branimir Glavas, a former member of the HDZ from Osijek who has been expelled from the party for promoting regionalism.
Glavas was ousted before local elections in May this year, when he was told that his proposal for regionalism was in contravention of the Constitution. After the elections, Glavas managed to form a coalition government in the city and the county of Osijek.
Sanader said he was confident that the HDZ would win next local elections in the city and the county, due to take place in 2007.
The speaker of the Croatian Parliament and HDZ vice-president, Vladimir Seks, said that the initiative that had been launched in Osijek "under the guise of regionalism" was undermining the unity of the country.
Seks dismissed Glavas's initiative as "separatism and autonomy seeking under the guise of a battle for the good of Slavonia and Baranja", saying that the HDZ would use all political means available to prevent such ideas from becoming a reality.
The meeting was also addressed by senior HDZ officials and ministers from Sanader's Cabinet.