In the context of the European Year on Citizenship, the Forum discussed the 'Participation of migrants in the democratic process – Towards an inclusive citizenship'. PIE was represented by Tarafa Baghajati (Adviser to the PIE board). He joined in the call for common EU rules on easier access to national citizenship. Even though rule-making on citizenship is likely to remain the prerogative of the Member States, EU fora such as the EIF must be used to raise awareness for the importance of access to citizenship after five years of residency. Furthermore, Tarafa drew attention to the importance of giving migrants who participate in party politics fair electoral chances through good positions on candidate lists. He also highlighted the connection between migrants’ cultural participation and their inclusion in the democratic process. “Migrants must be seen for their contribution to culture and not just for their contribution as cleaners”, Tarafa remarked.

The programme included plenary debates with high representatives of the European institutions and academic experts, as well as parallel roundtables, with different subjects related to the main theme. A roundtable on the future development of Home Affairs policies after the Stockholm Programme (2014-2020) was also held. See Commission Communication 'A new European Agenda for Home Affairs'