"It is extremely important that in announcing the British presidency of the EU, Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed that directly, explicitly mentioning Croatia," Sanader told the Vjesnik daily of Friday.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday that the enlargement of the European Union provided an "extraordinary, historic opportunity to build a greater and more powerful union", and added that the EU would honour its commitments to Turkey and Croatia.
Blair said this while addressing the European Parliament in Brussels.
Sanader said that at this moment of crisis the EU needed pondering the situation but added that the enlargement policy must continue.
"It will be hard for Europe to find new energy without maintaining and encouraging enthusiasm," Sanader said.
The Croatian PM said that Croatia did not represent a burden for the EU in any case.
"Continuing the process of meeting its obligations for the start of its EU entry talks (...) Croatia does not represent a burden but an additional value to the EU. As does the EU for Croatia," Sanader said.