He was addressing the 12th annual summit of Central European presidents taking place in Zagreb's Westin hotel today and on Saturday.
Only after the completion of the European integration process all over Europe will it be possible to say that a new Europe has been built and that the changing of its political and security architecture has been completed, the PM said. This is why the EU must not yield to fatigue and surrender before the challenges of enlargement, Sanader said.
European prospects are very significant for Southeast European countries, because of their internal development as well as because of the security and stability of this part of Europe, he added.
This was why he welcomed the launching of negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Serbia and Montenegro and the EU. He said he expected the European Commission's opinion on Macedonia's bid to be granted EU candidate status to be positive, and voiced confidence Bosnia and Herzegovina too would take the same road very soon.
European prospects are a motive for every society to reform and try to achieve the highest democratic standards, said Sanader.
We must be aware and able to tell our citizens that no one can survive alone and separated, because this means choosing isolation. Remaining outside European and global integration processes means remaining forgotten, left behind and powerless, said Sanader.
Speaking of the summit, he said it represented a special acknowledgement of Croatia at this moment because it was a confirmation of the country's new international standing, a confirmation that Croatia had become an active participant in the consideration of a new Europe.
Sanader recalled that Central Europe had always been a victim of the division between Europe's east and west.
Divided Europe divided our peoples, which is why orientation towards an undivided Europe is our primeval need, he said, adding that he saw the summit as yet another opportunity for regional heads of state to exchange views in order to promote more strongly the voice of Central Europe for the benefit of the entire Europe.
Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks said in his speech it was very symbolic that the summit was taking place in Croatia, which has just started negotiations on full EU membership.
We see the decision to launch the negotiations as a recognition of the state's democratic maturity with which the process of Croatia's EU integration has entered its final stage, Seks said, reiterating that EU membership was supported by all parliamentary parties.
He recalled that parliament had already done a lot in adjusting Croatian laws to European standards, which he said would accelerate the screening process, i.e. the evaluation of the adjustment.
The launching of Croatia's accession negotiations is the best confirmation of the approach which evaluates candidate states solely by their achievements and is a big encouragement to all neighbouring countries, in which Croatia supports reforms, said Seks.