"It's good for regions to cooperate," Sanader said in the northern town of Varazdin at the opening of a plant in the Varazdin Free Zone.
"There is no new region, but there is cooperation among regions, which should be encouraged."
Sanader said a transborder region was better than confrontation, and underlined that the good cooperation between Croatian and Italian regions could help shatter old prejudices existing in Italy.
"Of course, someone will say there is political risk. This is the old irredentist policy of some individuals in Italy. This will likely happen, but it is a minor issue and one should not worry about it," he said.
"If we wish to rise above the historical problems that exist, it is good for our counties to cooperate with foreign regions."
The establishment of a Euro-region which would consist of Croatia's Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties, Italy's Veneto and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Austria's Corinthia and a future Slovene region was discussed earlier this week in Udine, Italy, by these regions' presidents. They adopted a draft statement to be approved by state bodies.
Istria County prefect Ivan Jakovcic said yesterday he expected the government to accept the membership of the two Croatian counties in the future Euro-region.