Regions, minorities and European integration: a case study on the Italo-Slovene border.

• Author: Rigo, Enrica

Abstract

The study investigates the impact European integration has had on the mobilisation of the Slovenian ethnic minority and the Italian majority in the Italo-Slovene border region. It also addresses the changing interests and identities of the Slovenophone community living in Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG), placing them within the wider regional context, the latter of which is also undergoing a redefinition. In particular, it addresses the influence of EU enlargement and of EU structural policies on minority and majority mobilization and perceptions, as well as on the redefinition of the regional interests since the 1990s. The research has focused on the following aspects: the socio-economic situation of the Slovenophone community living in FVG within the context of the regional and territorial development; the Slovenophone community's political representation, mobilization and participation in public life; its identity representations, cultural recognition and perceptions of 'Europe'.

Key words

mobilization, ethnicity, EU enlargement, perception of Europe

Methodology

As far as the sources and the methodology are concerned, the research has been conducted through a series of in-depth interviews with selected members of socio/economic categories which include both minority and majority representatives. As listed in the appendix available at the Euroreg web-site (http:// www.eliamep.gr), 26 interviews out of 33 were conducted with representatives of the minority (politicians, community's leaders, civil society and think tank representatives, members of business categories, development officials and main project beneficiaries); the remaining interviews were conducted with representatives of the majority (politicians, members of business categories and development officials). Moreover, a series of data, relevant information and documents have been collected to integrate and crosscheck actors' perceptions. Together with data obtained from official sources, other sources include material such as books and informative booklets produced in the area of non-academic research. The latter have been crucial to understanding some peculiar aspects of the Slovenian community living in FVG and assessing their cultural needs and socio-economic practices.

1. Introduction

   Since the 1990s, the whole border area of Friuli Venezia Giulia has undergone a number of changes which have led to a complex process of regional redefinition. This report investigates some of the major changes, by distinguishing between three levels of analysis: a regional level within the specific context of border transformations; an internal level, which concerns the domestic political factors which have directly affected the Slovenophone minority's conditions; and a broader European level, focusing on the EU's integration and enlargement process, cross-border cooperation policies and their impact on the regional context and on majority/minority relations.

   With regard to the third level of analysis, the report focuses on the role played by Europe in enhancing the regional integration of the border area between FVG and Slovenia by means of a succession of investments (which have been taking place since the early 1990s) in cross-border cooperation and in the promotion of local development. In spite of the fact that Interreg programs do not directly target minorities, the 232 km-long programming border area connects 13 Slovenian municipalities with 24 Italian towns, among which all areas of FVG inhabited by Slovenophones are included. It is for this reason that, among the many schemes of cross border cooperation policies implemented by the EU, Interreg funds represent an interesting case study in order to evaluate changes in the interests, opportunities and constraints which have been faced by the minority, since the 1990s.

   The Slovenophone community in FVG is a significantly heterogeneous minority in terms of historical background, patterns of identity and integration within the region/nation state. It is also considerably dispersed throughout the border area. Both factors have significantly influenced majority/minority relations in the region and have been taken note of in the study.

   In certain areas of FVG, the existence of micro-communities ethnically and linguistically homogeneous questions the identification of majority/minority relations as defined by ethnic, national and linguistic grouping and results in a far more complex picture. For example, in the area of the Natisone's valley (a part of the so called Slavia Friulana in the province of Udine), definitions of majority/minority relations, according to which the Slovenophone community would be regarded as the 'minority', are indeed questionable: while the identification of the 'minority' according to the spoken mother tongue would lead to a definition of the whole community as a Slovenophone minority community, this is, in fact, highly disputed among Slovenophones themselves. In other areas, such as in the Carso villages (in the province of Trieste), which are inhabited by a majority of Slovenians, interviewees identify the Italians living in the area as the minority community; while majority/minority relations are perceived in more traditional terms whenever a broader territory is taken into account.

   Moreover, the territorial characteristics of certain rural and mountain areas inhabited by the Slovenophones, areas where majority/minority relations are defined along the lines of the rural/urban cleavage rather than ethnic/national grouping, seem also to influence the community's identity and self-perception of some sectors of the Slovenian minority. This is the case of the Collio area in the province of Gorizia. Finally, the internal political divisions within the Slovenophone community living in FVG overlap with some of the distinctions mentioned above, further influencing actors' identity perceptions, as well as political, socio-economic and cultural demands.

   This complex pattern of situations needs to be taken into account when assessing the impact of EU enlargement and of EU structural policies on minority and majority mobilization and perceptions, as well as on the redefinition of the regional interests. The research has focused on the following aspects: the socio-economic situation of the Slovenophone community living in FVG within the context of the regional and territorial development; the Slovenophone community's political representation, mobilization and participation in public life; its identity representations, cultural recognition and perceptions of 'Europe'. The analysis of the above factors was aimed at assessing whether, and to which extent, EU enlargement and structural policies have reinforced the significant changes that have occurred within the community and in majority/minority relations since the 1990s.

   We will argue, that on the one hand these changes should be placed within a broader international and political context in order to be fully understood; on the other, the EU's integration policies have improved the opportunities available to theminority groups and have influenced majority/minority relations, further enhancing a mobilization process which had already been generated within the Slovenophone minority. In other words, although EU integration and cross-border cooperation policies should not be regarded as a determining factor for minority mobilization, they have had a positive impact in providing new opportunities that could be exploited by the Slovenophones thanks to the fact that mobilization of the minority community was already active.

   The in-depth interviews conducted during the fieldwork have been extremely important with regard to assessing actors' perceptions but also in collecting information about changes within the domestic and the regional context during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Changing opportunities and constraints for the minority are the result of medium term processes which can only be partially documented through official sources. This is mainly due to the ever-shifting and changing condition of the Slovenophone minority itself but also to the criteria according to which data are collected (i.e. they relate to the whole area and the whole population of FVG with no distinction between minorities and majority). Due to the lack of statistical data on the socio-economic condition and on the political representation of the Slovenophones living in FVG, a comprehensive analysis of the effects of European integration at the Italo-Slovene border can only be achieved if integrated with other sources. Information gathered from all representatives during the interviews has been crosschecked with different respondents and, when possible, it has been supported by additional documentation.

   The second section outlines the background of the case study, describing the size and the distribution of the Slovenophones in FVG and assesses

   majority/minority relations in an historical perspective, in the political and institutional context and in the context of the regional socio-economic development. The third section deals with key factors of change at the regional level (in the specific context of the Italo-Slovene border's transformation), at the internal level (in the context of regional and national policies) and at the broader level of European integration. The fourth section investigates the extent to which major changes, which have occurred since the 1990s, have affected opportunities and constraints for the Slovenophones in FVG and majority/minority relations. In particular, it focuses on the Slovenophones' socio-economic condition, political representation, cultural mobilization and needs and on the impact of European integration policies. The fifth section assesses the impact of the set of factors mentioned above through local actors' perceptions and responses. The final section summarises the main findings described throughout the report and...