Sanader made the statement at a news conference after talks with British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who arrived in Zagreb for a day-long visit as the first member of the British government to visit the country since Croatia started EU entry talks.
Talks with the EU, launched on October 3, started also because Croatia enjoyed consistent support from Great Britain, Sanader told reporters. He added that he asked Prescott to convey to British PM Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw his gratitude for their personal and unequivocal support to Croatia during the opening of the EU entry talks.
"The Croatian and British governments are agreed that the process of enlargement should continue and that is why October 3 was good news both for Croatia and our neighbours in Southeast Europe," Sanader said.
The British government wants to participate in Croatia's negotiations on full EU membership, which is the reason why British Deputy PM Prescott presented a partnership plan for the 2005/06 period in Zagreb today, Sanader said.
The two officials also discussed bilateral issues, agreeing that there were no outstanding issues between the two countries, with Sanader advocating an increase in mutual trade.
"We also discussed the issue of visas because Great Britain is the only EU country with a visa regime for Croatian citizens. We have an ally in John Prescott and I hope that his words will soon produce results with the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary," Sanader said.
The British official said he was delighted to be visiting Croatia after the accomplishment of one of the goals of the British EU presidency - the launching of talks with Croatia. He expressed congratulations and offered all possible assistance in the process of negotiation.
Prescott said that the need to expand the borders of the EU had been reaffirmed in talks with the leaders of new EU members and candidate countries, in which he had been taking part since his country took over the EU presidency.
We are happy about Croatia having started the talks, but we are also aware that many other countries in the Balkans want to become part of the European family, he said.
Prescott said that the 2005/06 partnership plan between Great Britain and Croatia covered areas in which Great Britain would help Croatia during the accession talks. The plan covers the judiciary and home affairs, reform of the state administration, defence reform, mutual trade and investment, education and culture and concrete assistance to the Croatian negotiating team and government ministers.
Great Britain has already granted 2.5 million euros in aid for those projects.
Prescott, the highest British official to visit Croatia in a bilateral capacity, said he was glad that PM Sanader would attend an informal summit on the future of the EU's economic and social model at Hampton Court, UK on Thursday.
Prescott said he was aware of the perception that Great Britain had often withheld support for Croatia, which he dismissed, saying that his country had always provided great support to Croatia.
After meeting Sanader, Prescott met President Stjepan Mesic, to whom he conveyed greetings from PM Tony Blair.
A statement from the President's Office said the British Deputy Prime Minister welcomed Mesic's statement that Croatia was firmly committed to meeting its international obligations, including full cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal. Prescott agreed with Mesic's statement about the need to fight global terrorism and to work on eliminating its causes.
The British official thanked President Mesic for having recalled, at a round table discussion on Britain's participation in the National Liberation Struggle in Croatia, the fact that the alliance with Great Britain dated back to World War II.