SANADER SATISFIED WITH SCHROEDER'S SUPPORT

BERLIN, March 10 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said on Wednesday he was pleased that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had expressed full support to Croatia and encouraged it in its ambition to win candidate status for European Union membership.#L# "I am particularly pleased with the talks with Chancellor Schroeder, who once again, without any reserve, gave full support to Croatia and encouraged us in our ambitions to expect an opinion of the European Commission in April and a decision on candidate status and the start of (membership) talks in June," Sanader told Croatian reporters in Berlin on Wednesday evening after a series of meetings with German officials. Sanader said that the German chancellor's support to Croatia's European ambitions was important because of his friendship with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Also, Schroeder is due to meet Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who is scheduled to visit Germany on Thursday. Britain and the Netherlands have not yet ratified a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU. "Chancellor Schroeder has agreed with me that candidate status and the start of talks would be important for Croatia and that at the same time it would also be a clear signal to other countries in our neighbourhood that /our/ European prospects are not an illusion, but that they can be a reality," Sanader said. Sanader began a two-day official visit on Wednesday. Earlier in the day he had met Bundestag president Wolfgang Thierse, Foreign Policy Committee chairman Volker Ruehe and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel. All the meetings reaffirmed that "relations between Croatia and Germany have always been good, regardless of which party is in power, Sanader said. (Hina) vm sb