Cross-border integration and local communities, 2015

In the border area of Istria, a case study was carried out (in-depth field research) among members of the Italian national minority in Slovenian Istria. The purpose of the study was to get an insight into the life of the minority in the culturally mixed border area of Istria, to determine the intensity of cross-border contacts along the Slovenian-Croatian border and to identify the role of the minority in maintaining various contacts with Slovenia, the role of various media in informing about minority issues, the expected role of Slovene border areas and the Slovene and Italian minorities after Slovenia’s accession to the EU and the expectations of the border population regarding the effects of Slovenia’s (RS) accession to the Schengen area and Croatia’s (RH) to EU on further development of relations between the two countries. At the same time, the same study was conducted among members of the Italian national minority in Croatian Istria (see study ADP - IDNo: ISTRAH15).