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Research on European identity focuses mainly on majority populations in Western European countries without differentiating among specific population groups and generations, and, above all, disregarding ethnic minority groups living in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the development of European identity among three ethnic minority groups in Lithuania: Belarusians, Poles, and Russians. Theoretically, the project is based on the instrumental approach, which argues that European identity is closely related to perceived benefits from “being European,” and on the cultural approach, which holds a common history, ancestry, and culture responsible for the development of European identity. Existing research has, above all, emphasized the importance of instrumental considerations. Analyzing qualitative interviews collected in the FP7 research project “ENRI-East,” the paper compares how young and adult members of ethnic minority groups construct European identity due to “instrumental” and “cultural” considerations. The results show that both instrumental and cultural considerations are relevant and further development of European identity depends on which age group or ethnic minority group an individual belongs to.

European Identity and its Relationship to National and Ethnic Identities among Younger and Older Members of Ethnic Minority Groups. European identity is neither a new phenomenon nor a new concept. Yet, after almost three decades of research, this area is characterized by a wide variety of concepts and little empirical evidence. Existing studies in the area propose homogeneous concepts of societies and often disregard European identity among ethnic minorities and non-citizens. This paper addresses the gap in the literature and analyses European identity among 12 minority groups living in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that have already become or might become EU members. The purpose of this study is to examine the choice of European identity and attitudes towards Europe in relation to other identities among respondents with an ethnic minority background. The paper addresses this question within the life-course perspective and examines differences in identity levels between the young and older cohorts of minority groups. For our analysis we have used a sample of 6800 members of ethnic minorities living in CEE (ENRIValues and Identities Survey). Our results indicate a stronger level of European orientation among minority young people in comparison to adults. Moreover, the study shows that while young minority cohorts manifest stronger levels of European identity than adults, their levels of national and ethnic identity are significantly lower. While adults consider their national identity to be more salient than European identity, young people give the two equal degrees of importance. At the same time, for both young people and adults, the results illustrate that European identity is compatible with both national and ethnic identities.Key words: identity, ethnic minority, young people, European identity, attitudes towards Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, ENRI-East Európska identita a jej vzťah k národným a národnostným identitám medzi mladšími a staršími príslušníkmi národnostných menšín. Európska identita nie je ani nový fenomén, ani nový koncept. Napriek tomu, po takmer tridsiatich rokoch, charakterizuje túto oblasť množstvo konceptov a málo empirických dôka-zov. Jestvujúce štúdie v tejto oblasti ponúkajú homogénne koncepty spoločností a často neberú do úvahy európsku identitu medzi národnostnými menšinami a cudzincami. Táto štúdia sa zaoberá medzerou v literatúre a analyzuje európsku identitu medzi 12 národnostnými skupinami v krajinách strednej a východnej Európy, ktoré sa už stali alebo mohli by sa stať členmi Európskej únie. Účelom tejto štúdie je preskúmať voľbu európskej identity a postoje k Európe vo vzťahu k iným identitám medzi respondentmi, ktorí majú pôvod v národnostnej menšine. Štúdia sa zaoberá touto otázkou v rámci životnej perspektívy a skúma rozdiely v úrovni identity medzi mladšími a staršími príslušníkmi menšinových skupín. Vo svojej analýze sme použili vzorku z 6 800 príslušníkov národnostných menších žijúcich v strednej a východnej Európe. Naše výsledky naznačujú vyššiu úroveň...