Sanader was attending a meeting of the EPP, the umbrella organisation of Christian Democratic parties. The meeting, traditionally held ahead of every EU summit, was attended by 12 prime ministers from the EPP ranks.
At the start of the meeting, Sanader asked EPP President Wilfried Martenst that participants should discuss Croatia in the context of a European Parliament resolution passed last week, which says that the European Union's absorption capacity should be taken into account when admitting new members to the bloc.
The European Parliament offered countries that do not have an immediate European perspective a status between full membership and the policy of good neighbourly relations, and instructed the European Commission to define the Union's absorption capacity by the year's end.
"All speakers who requested the floor after my opening remarks fully supported Croatia, saying they particularly appreciated its role in Southeast Europe. It is beyond any doubt that EPP leaders support Croatia's path and the conclusion of the accession talks," Sanader told reporters.
"I hope all discussions within the EU on (further enlargement) will be over by the time we complete the talks, so that there will be no obstacles to Croatia's entry," he added.
The prime minister said he had several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Slovenia, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, but singled out one with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"I had a very good conversation with Angela Merkel, who invited me to Germany for an official visit, which I accepted. I also invited her to visit Croatia. She fully assured me of her support for the programme adopted by the coalition of the CDU/CSU and the SPD in Germany, and that is that Croatia must be a full member of the EU after it completes the talks successfully," Sanader said.
"I do not see any problems for Croatia. Those who supported it yesterday support it also today," he noted.