The meeting will lay the groundwork for an emergency EU summit on the refugee crisis which is scheduled to be held tomorrow.

Agreement has proven elusive in recent weeks on the distribution of refugees which have already reached the EU, with several countries in eastern and central Europe opposed to obligatory quotas.

While Slovenia was initially opposed to obligatory quotas, it has since softened its stance to allow for this following the deterioration in the refugee crisis.

The ministers will be under pressure to reach agreement as the crisis intensifies and the bloc facing increasing criticism over what is seen as a disjointed response.

After dealing with the arrival of 3,000 refugees travelling on the Western Balkans migration route in an effort to reach western and northern Europe over the past weekend, Slovenia is expected to advocate a coordinated response and better funding of countries affected by the migration flows.