Ljubljana - Prime Minister Robert Golob is scheduled to travel to Paris on Thursday for talks with French President Emanuel Macron, his second bilateral visit abroad after he held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in July.

Golob and Macron will exchange views on energy issues, the green transition, and EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, the prime minister's office said. They will also explore opportunities for stronger economic cooperation.

The new government, which took office on 1 June, has made it one of its top foreign policy priorities to return Slovenia among the core EU countries after the previous government's pivot towards the Visegrad Group.

Golob has also joined a call by Macron for the formation of a new European centrist alliance that would go beyond the existing Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).

The ruling Freedom Movement is not a member of any European grouping yet.