"We will complete our part of the job and meet conditions for the start of negotiations," Sanader said at a ceremony marking the European Day of Civil Justice at the Croatian Justice Ministry. He said Croatia had done a lot in the process of drawing closer to the European Union.
Sanader said that apart from the usual criteria for EU membership, Croatia needed to meet special conditions such as judicial reform, the return of refugees, the restitution of property and full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The PM reiterated that the government wanted to accelerate the process of joining the EU and that the negotiations could be completed by 2007.
"We believe that our admission to the EU would be good and useful for all Croatian citizens and that it will offer a new chance for the development of Croatia's economy;" Sanader said.
The prime minister said that over the last ten months the government had taken a number of reform measures to make Croatian courts more efficient by 2007.