She also praised relations between her country and Slovenia, which is "increasingly important" to the UK.

"As you know the EU is a subject of intense concern in the UK and it is highly likely there will be a referendum as to whether or not we should stay in the EU or leave it," D'Souza noted, adding that this would be the first time in 40 years the UK would vote on the matter.

"I think that my concern as the leader of the House of Lords ... is to try and ensure we have as much dialogue as possible both within the country and between countries in order to understand what the issues are."

The House of Lords is "intensely concerned" with the negotiations on Brexit, the prospect of the UK leaving the bloc, as it would mean great change for the UK.

She also touched on the refugee crisis, calling for an acceptable action plan.

The EU should adopt policy and action in order to deal "not only with the current crisis in terms of migrants but also in dealing with the fundamental base of the problem, which is what is going on in the Middle East".

The talk of reform in the EU must be geared towards developing actions that are capable of being implemented in the very near future, she added.

Touching on her visit to Slovenia, the speaker noted that Slovenia was an increasingly important country to the UK, "because it is something of a gateway to the rest of the Western Balkans".

Good relations between the two countries were also highlighted by National Council President Mitja Bervar, who noted that talks between the two delegations were mostly focused on ties between the parliamentary chambers in the two countries, between upper chambers across Europe and the role of upper chambers in different countries.

Touching on the topical issue of reforms in the EU, he expressed hope that the visit would contribute to "finding common solutions that the EU is currently feverishly seeking and urgently needs".