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Pahor believes that the Convention on the Future of Europe, which existed already at the turn of the millennium as a basis for a treaty on the constitution of Europe, should be completed after the 2014 European election with a new constitution.

An agreement on this should be made "with as big political majority as possible, perhaps a consensus", the president said.

Elaborating on this at a joint press conference with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, Pahor said a European constitution would take the EU quite a few steps forward.

It would set up a "real European parliament, real government and a real European central bank" with full powers.

At the same time the democracy of European institutions would need to be enhanced along with the institutions of the rule of law in the EU, he believes.

If the EU keeps the current Lisbon Treaty as its legal basis, it will not be able to cope with the challenges of the future, which has been demonstrated by the current crisis, Pahor said in his speech in Parliament.

"In the long run, the Lisbon Treaty is a basis too much unreliable for strategic actions of the EU if the bloc is to preserve and enhance its role of a global political and economic player," he said.

"We cannot start thinking about the future of the EU in a few years, when the situation improves somewhat because it will not improve. Now is the time to think about it. Now is the time to kick-start the intellectual engine."

Answering to a journalist question at the press conference on whether now was a good time to speak of an enhanced EU, Pahor pointed to Slovenia's vision in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

At that time, Slovenia had many problems, including economic problems, but it nevertheless decided to peruse its vision of independence, the president said, adding that Europe was in a similar position now.

He said that when speaking of the United Nations of Europe, he never had in mind the American concept of a melting pot. Europe's advantage is its diversity, but in order for this concept to work a new balance between diversity and unity must be found, he explained.

He believes one way to beat Euroscepticism is through a scheme that would create jobs for the young, thus restoring their trust in the bloc.

As Slovenian president, Pahor assured MEPs that "Slovenia will solve its problems and will again shine as one of the EU's stars".

The country is still struggling with the crisis, but the politics seems to be attesting more unity recently, he said. "Recently, we have made some dramatic decisions, which took a lot of political maturity," he stressed