"We expect that Croatia will get an agreement for which its citizens will cast their vote at the referendum," Sanader said at the start of a government session.
Commenting on media reports of the introduction of a clause providing for the possibility of suspension of talks, Sanader said that any talks could be suspended and that there was no reason "to raise dust over it".
The prime minister expressed hope that the European Commission would confirm that membership talks would begin at the beginning of next year.
Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul said that according to his information the European Commission would adopt "a positive and constructive document that fully satisfied our expectations." He added that he did not expect the document to be substantially different from those issued for the ten countries that joined the bloc in May this year.
Zuzul said that the European Commission could not decide today on the date of negotiations with Croatia, and that this decision would be made in December. He said that the European Commission was expected to decide today on the amount of pre-accession funds for 2005 and 2006.
The State Secretary at the Ministry for European Integration, Marija Pejcinovic, said that within the next month the government would come out with an action plan specifying what steps should be taken in order to qualify for the use of pre-accession funds.
Sanader called on the government to make every effort to ensure the best possible negotiations with the EU, and reiterated that the government would invite all people with the necessary experience and knowledge to join the negotiators.
The prime minister said that there was full consensus of all political parties towards the EU, stressing that EU membership would be more beneficial than damaging to the country, and that the government would continue promoting pro-European policy.