Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the proposed arrangement for musicians to tour in the EU without needing individual visas for each country.

Regrettably we do not believe the sector’s visa waiver proposal is viable. The Commission would be likely to argue that any EU-wide visa waiver agreement can only be part of a wider package with a binding non-discrimination clause and a reciprocal visa waiver agreement covering all current and future Member States, as they proposed in negotiaions. This remains incompatible with our manifesto commitment to take control of our borders.

The UK took an ambitious approach during negotiations that would have ensured that touring artists and their support staff did not need work-permits to perform in the EU. Regrettably, our proposals were rejected by the EU, but our door remains open if the EU wants to reconsider its position.

UK performers, artists, and musicians are of course still able to tour and perform in the EU, and vice versa. As the Secretary of State has said, we have moved at pace and with urgency and have provided much greater clarity about the current position.

We have published guidance on GOV.UK, signposting to official information provided by EU countries about their business travel routes. And through our bilateral discussions with EU Member States, we have established that in at least 17 out of 27 Member States some touring activities are possible without visas or work-permits. The UK has significantly more generous arrangements for touring professionals than many Member States, and should they be willing to change their rules to more closely align with ours we will have those discussions and encourage them to do so.