The declaration sets four priorities for Slovenia and the EU in the next year and a half: safety, success and sustainable development, social sensitivity and a stronger global role of Europe.

Cerar said that this year and the next were seen by many as a "window of opportunity for transition to stronger, more resilient and progressive integration".

According to Cerar, the European society reacted to the threats of disintegration and protectionism in the world with a stronger sense of community and new faith in the EU in the last year.

As many times before, the biggest problems and challenges have proven to be an excellent opportunity to make the necessary changes, he said.

Cerar believes social standards must be raised throughout the bloc and the social subsystems modernised. "We must improve the competitiveness of our industry, build a new legal frame for free and fair trade and foreign investment, control migration flows and take a leading role in the fight against the climate change."

He also called for more democracy and efficiency, more confidence and global influence.

The prime minister believes the Brexit talks must in no way be given priority over talks on the future of the EU.

He noted that next spring, the debate on EU funding after 2020 will intensify, which is why Slovenia has already started to prepare for the negotiations.

Slovenia will also continue to advocate for the full implementation of the Schengen rules, he added.

Cerar also stressed the importance of the rule of law and honouring the decisions of international tribunals, pointing to the Slovenian-Croatia border arbitration ruling.

"This is not a bilateral issue, but a basic issue of respect of the rule of law and EU law. We must not forget that the arbitration agreement is directly connected to Croatia's EU accession and that the European Commission played an important role in that compromise solution. It seems that it will also have an important role in the future."

The prime minister referred to Slovenia's lifting its blockade of Croatia's accession talks in exchange for the signing of the 2009 arbitration agreement, from which Croatia unilaterally withdraw in 2015 following an eavesdropping scandal.

The National Assembly passed the declaration in the evening along with the resolution on international development cooperation and humanitarian aid, which replaces the previous resolution for the period until 2015.

Slovenia's development cooperation will focus on the Western Balkans, the European neighbourhood and the least developed countries of the sub-Saharan Africa.

The key areas will be promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies, fight against climate change and international humanitarian aid.

The resolution also envisages the government adopting a relevant strategy within a year to define in detail the individual areas of the resolution and further activities in this field.

An action plan is also envisaged which would help Slovenia fulfil the international commitment of dedicating 0.33% of GDP to official developmental aid by 2030, according to the Foreign Ministry.