Blacks in Europe and political participation Joe Frans Chairperson, Politics counts. Representation matters. And Policymakers makes all the difference. Chairperson, The participation of people of African descent in political organizations and their representation is a prerequisite for equal rights for all in Europe. Quite clearly, racism is the most relevant underlying explanation in trying to understand the role of political parties in the integration of people of African descent in political life and in decision-making processes in Europe. Without an understanding of how racism permeates the very social fabric of Western societies and how its cancerous cells affect both its perpetrators and the strategies victims are constantly devising to survive, one can never really understand the mechanisms needed to redress this entrenched form of moral and ethical injustice. “Racism is not just a topic for ethics and political philosophy. The existence of systemic racism—its consequences for the structures of the societies—has deep implications”. It is fair to say that Racist and populist parties with xenophobic views are gaining ground in Europe. It is also fair to say that these extremists parties have had an impact on mainstream political parties and therefore on policy. There is an ongoing triangular shift in policy in order to minimize the political space for populist parties and extremist parties. This often leads to policies that negatively impact on minorities in Europe.