After the talks, Sanader and Barroso told reporters that the EC President's visit to Croatia several months after the country launched accession negotiations with the European Union was a sign that Croatia was on the right track and that it enjoyed the EC's support.
"The arrival of the top-ranking EC official several months after the start of negotiations with the EU is a great encouragement and a message that Croatia belongs to the European family," the Croatian PM said.
My message here today is a message of confidence and encouragement. We are sure that Croatia will soon be a full EU member, said Barroso who arrived in Zagreb accompanied by EC Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and the head of the EC Directorate-General for Enlargement, Michael Leigh.
Both we and the Croatian government know that this is in the best interest of the Croatian people and Croatia, Barroso added.
He went on to say that the process of negotiation was not easy for any country and that there would certainly be some difficult issues in the 35 chapters that Croatia is negotiating with the EU to meet requirements for full membership.
However, the goal we share with the Croatian government is clear, our commitment is clear. My message here today is that we have come to offer you support, the EC President said.
Sanader told the news conference that he and the EC officials had discussed a series of issues regarding Croatia's integration with the EU, including the ongoing membership talks, conditions which Croatia must meet and the situation in the region.
Although Croatia wants to take ambitious steps towards full EU membership, it does not want to give up on the region or forget that it is in this part of Europe and that its task is to cooperate with the international community in a bid to permanently stabilise this part of Europe, Sanader said.
Croatia will use and offer its experience as a country that knows the mentality, history, languages and situation in this part of Europe in order to help the EU and the international community to reach a permanent political solution and stabilisation that would enable the region to enjoy prosperity and have a future in Europe, Sanader added.
The European Union welcomes Croatia's commitment to cooperate with neighbours and this is important both to the region and to us. We count on Croatia's constructive and active role, Barroso said.
Asked by reporters about the EU's 2007-2014 budget which does not include any item referring to Croatia, Barroso said that Croatia and the EC today signed an agreement on decentralisation of pre-accession funds which he said should be seen as a clear sign of confidence which the EU placed in Croatia.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that in the past there had been cases when the EU was negotiating with a candidate country without having a budget of its own. This is not a problem, he added.
Currently, the Union allocates financial assistance for structural funds in research, development and agriculture and those funds will be available to Zagreb when Croatia joins the EU, Rehn added.
On Thursday morning Barroso will be received by President Stjepan Mesic and address the national parliament.
Zagreb is the first stop on Barroso's tour of the region. After the Croatian capital, he will visit Belgrade, Pristina, Skopje, Tirana and Sarajevo.