Integration to the European Union in the Field of Archives: the Experience of the Republic of Slovenia

The purpose of the article is to analyse the long-term practical experience of the Republic of Slovenia in joining European Union (EU) initiatives in the archival field. This will make it possible to study and highlight the interaction practices of archival institutions of the EU member states and the specifics of the implementation of EU legislation related to the archival sphere at the national level. So far, these problems have not received enough attention in scholarly works. In addition, this scientific research can have practical significance for the formation of a general strategy for the integration of Ukrainian archives into the European space and the development of specific steps for it. The research methodology is based on the complex application of general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization) and special scientific methods (of historical and source analysis, of questionnaire). Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian historiography, the article analyses various activities of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia (ARS) related to EU integration. The article highlights how national archival and related legislation was adapted to EU law. It also identifies the projects of archival cooperation between EU member states in which Slovenia participated. The basis of this study was not only relevant legal acts and published studies on the topic, but also information obtained directly from Slovenian archivists. The conclusions summarize the results of the research. It was shown that the ARS is actively involved in the activities of the EU bodies that formulate the strategy of archival cooperation of the member states (European Board of National Archivists (EBNA) and European Archives Group (EAG)). During Slovenia's integration into the EU, the national archival legislation has not changed, since the EU legislation directly related to the archival sphere is of a recommendatory nature, and the mandatory related EU legislation has been implemented only in the relevant national legislative and regulatory acts. At the same time, these acts include certain provisions related to the activities of cultural organisations, which archives are obliged to comply with. Archivists were involved in working groups for their development. Thus, Slovenia's integration into the EU in the archival field involved participation in the development of the archival strategy and EU regulations, adaptation of national legislation to EU norms, implementation of EU legal norms in the practical activities of state archives, participation in international EU archival projects, etc.