Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on improving touring arrangements for artists from a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, b) Staffordshire and c) the United Kingdom.

The UK and EU committed to cultural exchange at the UK-EU Summit in May 2025. The government is dedicated to improving touring conditions for creative professionals across the UK, including Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire.

DCMS Ministers and officials, UK Ambassadors and FCDO officials regularly engage with the European Commission and EU Member States to support cross-border touring. This has yielded practical improvements, including visa-free short stays in Croatia since 21 February 2025. More broadly, most EU Member States offer visa and work permit free routes for at least 30 days, with many others offering up to 90 days, including the UK’s biggest touring markets (e.g. France, Germany, Spain).

We continue to pursue these solutions through high-level channels – including my co-chairing of the UK-European Commission High-Level Meeting on Culture with Commissioner Glenn Micallef on 24 March 2026 – and we look forward to further progressing this meaningful dialogue at the next UK-EU Summit once a date is confirmed.