ABSTRACT
In 2000, EU citizens exercised for the first time their recently acquired rights of local political participation, either as a vote or a candidate. But nationality remains an essential instrument for any discussion on participation, especially political. In Belgium, it was a subject of debate from the 1960s, while becoming of major concern and interest during the 1990s. The main cornerstones of this historical dynamic in terms of active civic participation of immigrants in Belgium is revisited in this chapter. This historical process leading to a greater political participation has been clearly given impetus because of not only the European unification process with the economic incentives and the necessary labour mobility, but also thanks to the mobilization of actors and civil society.
