UK government announces agreement with 19 EU countries allowing visa-free short-term tours

By Emmanuel Legrand

The UK's live music sector has cautiously welcomed the news that the British government has reached an agreement with 19 European Union Member States that will allow UK artists to perform in these countries without the need for visas or work permits for short-term tours.

  The Member States that have confirmed the agreement are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden.

  "We, as government, have spoken to every EU Member State about the issues facing our creative and cultural industries when looking to tour in Europe. From these discussions 19 Member States have confirmed UK musicians and performers do not need visas or work permits for short-term tours," said a statement from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). 

A welcome progress

  Reacting to the news on Twitter, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin (pictured, below), Chief Executive of British music industry's umbrella organisation UK Music, wrote: "@UK_Music has been pressuring government to resolve the EU touring crisis – so it is welcome that progress is starting to be made on this issue and negotiations are happening at ministerial level."

  He added: "It’s vital that gvt maintains its focus and works to remove the practical barriers currently impacting musicians who need to work across the EU – particularly in the 8 member states which ARE requiring permits and visas, and on the EU-wide cabotage issues facing industry. It’s also important gvt works with member states to develop clear guidance on the countries where touring is possible so that musicians & crews have a clear understanding of what the different rules are & what will be required from them. Eg, what is covered by “short term”?"

  He concluded: "All in all this is encouraging - but there is still lots of work to be done, and we will continue to pressure gvt to resolve the many issues facing our industry when it comes to working and touring in Europe."

Engaging with other EU members

  Meanwhile, for the organisations backing the campaign #letthemusicmove – the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) – the announcement was mostly "spin." 

  In a statement, they said: "It remains that the UK's music industry is in a far less advantageous position now than it was pre-January. Despite the spin, this statement represents an admission of failure. Failure to fulfil the promises made by Government about securing our industry's future during negotiations, failure to 'fix' the issue, as per the PM's statement of March this year, and failure to provide certainty around touring in almost a third of EU countries, eight months after the music industry was dealt a no-deal scenario.

  The Musicians’ Union (MU) said it gave "a cautious welcome" to the announcement. While acknowledging that the Government is working on these issues, the union noted that "the list of nineteen countries does not include important territories like Spain, where UK musicians are having major issues with touring."

A lot of problems remain

  In addition, for the MU the announcement "makes no mention of crew, drivers, carnets, or fees for moving equipment." 

  Horace Trubridge, MU General Secretary, commented: “There remains a number of very significant, outstanding issues and this announcement fails to account for many of the problems currently facing musicians touring in the EU. In fact, it remains unclear as to whether this is a result of recent negotiations or simply a clarification of measures that have been in place for some time."

  He added: "The MU has been pushing the Government to negotiate with member states to avoid the need for work permits and remove the barriers that currently exist around cabotage, customs and transport. Whilst this progress is welcome, there is still a lot of work to be done.” 

Continuing to work with the industry

  The DCMS said that it was now "actively engaging with the remaining EU Member States that do not allow visa and permit free touring, and calling on them to align their arrangements with the UK’s generous rules, which allow touring performers and support staff to come to the UK for up to 3 months without a visa."

  The UK government said that formal approaches via officials and DCMS Ministers have been made to Spain, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Malta and Cyprus. 

  "We are also working with the sector to amplify each other’s lobbying efforts," said the DCMS. "We recognise challenges remain around touring, and we are continuing to work closely with the industry. We want to ensure that when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, touring can resume and our world-leading creative and cultural artists can continue to travel widely, learning their craft, growing their audiences and showing the best of British creativity to the world."