"We expect the European Council to adopt a very clear decision on the date of the talks, in keeping with the June decision that the talks should start in early 2005," Sanader told the press after the meeting.
He said the diplomatic battle was being waged over whether the decision would contain conditions and if so, what would they be.
Sanader said the Visegrad Group countries informed him they fully supported an unconditional setting of the entry talks date, and that Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi also pledged full support.
Sanader said today's meeting also addressed inter-party relations. He believes talks on that have to be resumed, but after the presidential election in January.
He resolutely dismissed claims about the existence of suggestions as to how to settle inter-party conflicts or that they could affect the start of the Croatia-EU talks.
Sanader said December 17 would see a decision on the treatment of the issue of fugitive general Ante Gotovina, who is wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He added Croatian diplomats would use every means and argument to remove the possibility of the Gotovina case posing an obstacle to the start of the entry talks.
The PM recalled the draft decisions the European Council would adopt on December 17 already existed and that Croatian diplomats were lobbying for the final document to be as favourable for Croatia as possible.
Speaking on behalf of the other political parties' leaders, Social Democratic Party (SDP) president Ivica Racan said they all strongly supported Croatia's EU entry and wanted to contribute to a positive decision on the start of the talks.
Racan said the conflicts and scandals in current Croatian politics must be solved in democratic fashion. He added the political life would return to normal and that there was no talk today of suppressing debates.
Also present at the talks were independent and ethnic minorities' MPs.
Asked about the Counterintelligence Agency (POA) case, Sanader said he agreed with declassifying the reports of the Council for the Civilian Supervision of Secret Services. He added he would make his final decision on the POA case after its chief submitted a report.
Racan too endorsed the intention to declassify the reports referred to by Sanader and President Stjepan Mesic.