The Italian Union, an umbrella organisation of ethnic Italians in the peninsula of Istri, on Monday asked the prime ministers, Andrej Plenkovic of Croatia and Janez Jansa of Slovenia, to see to it that the labels of local food and beverages include also information in the Italian language.

The Italian Union said that, as Italian is one of the official languages in the Croatian and Slovenian parts of Istria, the three-language labels of the local products, protected at the EU level, should be introduced.

This will also define the clear European dimension of the area in which the Italian community has been present throughout the history, it says.

The Union advocates the three-language labels for all food products and beverages typical of Istria.