I would like to be clear: there are no political obstacles regarding Croatia's bid to enter the European Union. The political decision has been made: Europe wants Croatia as a full EU member and Britain also would like to see Croatia as a full member, the British premier told the press after the meeting with Sanader.
Blair reiterated that the only remaining issue is meeting the membership criteria and this also applies on Croatia like on any other country.
Fulfil the criteria and you are going to become a member," Blair told reporters during a joint news conference he and his guest held.
According to Blair, the guarantees that Croatia will joint the Union are changes which have been happening in Croatia and the fact that the political leadership is resolute to complete them.
Asked whether he could say when Croatia would be admitted to the EU, Blair said that it was pointless to arbitrarily determine dates, reiterating that Croatia should meet the criteria and individual progress would be taken into account.
The British PM expressed great satisfaction with the British and Croatian relations describing them as being very strong.
I am looking forward to Croatia's membership in the EU and NATO, and Great Britain offers full support to both objectives, Blair said commending the Croatian government for making big steps forward recently.
He described today's meeting as historic given that this was their first official meeting.
Sanader thanked Blair for having supported Croatia in its efforts to meet requirements for the opening of accession negotiations with the European Commission.
He informed his host about Croatia's activities in the region, adding that Croatia would not forget southeastern Europe once it joined the EU.
Croatia will continue to be active in the region, Sanader said adding that he believes that southeastern European countries have prospects of entering the EU.
Sanader, who described the ties between Zagreb and London as very good, told reporters that he had invited Blair to officially visit Croatia as soon as possible.
After the meeting with Blair, the Croatian official held talks with Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.
Later in the day, he and a Croatian delegation will meet business people from the City.