European integration and ethnic minority mobilization: a theoretical introduction and literature review

This report introduces the main theoretical and empirical underpinnings of the EUROREG project. EUROREG’s focus is on the impact of EU induced regionalisation on minority and majority nationalism. EUROREG is centrally concerned with regions inhabited by large historical minority populations. The term ‘historical minority’ is used here to distinguish between the minority populations that were part of a national or multinational state since its creation, from the minority groups that are the outcome of international migration flows. EUROREG is interested only in the former type of minorities.
More specifically, EUROREG studies the links between European economic integration and ethnic minority mobilisation. It explores the effects of
European integration on territorially concentrated ethnic minorities and their politics, as well as on their relations with national majorities and the state. We have selected nine cases of minority inhabited regions, seven in EU member states: five in ‘old’ member states (Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain and the UK), two in 2004 member states (Slovakia and Slovenia), and two in accession countries of Central-East and Southeast Europe (CESE) (Bulgaria and Romania).