Opening the session, chairman Goran Jandrokovic said his country was confident that it would soon complete accession negotiations with the European Union.
"We are confident that we will complete the negotiations in 2008 and hope that Croatians will take part in the next elections for the European parliament in 2009," said Jandrokovic, who is also the head of the Croatian parliament's foreign affairs committee.
Sabor Speaker Vladimir Seks thanked the European Parliament for its continuous support to Croatia's aspirations to join the EU.
"I hope that the incumbent European Parliament will confirm Croatia's admission to the EU," Seks said at the start of the session.
Pal Schmitt, a Hungarian representative of the European People's Party, said that two things were certain: Croatia is determined to join the European Union as soon as possible and it will be assessed according to its own achievements.
The joint inter-parliamentary committee is expected to discuss the process of adjustment of Croatia's legislation to the EU acquis communautaire and other topical issues. At the end of the session, it will issue a joint statement and recommendations backing Croatia's efforts to enter the EU.
The chief Croatian negotiator, Vladimir Drobnjak, said significant progress had been made since the start of membership talks a year and a half ago.
"We expect this year to be the year of opening policy chapters, and next year to be the year of closing the negotiations," Drobnjak said.
On Wednesday, the session will be chaired by Pall Schmitt.
Present at the meeting tomorrow will be Johannes Swoboda, the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee's rapporteur for Croatia, the German Ambassador to Croatia, Jochen Peters, on behalf of Germany as the current EU chair, and Vincent Degert, the head of the European Commission's Delegation in Zagreb.