The United Kingdom’s Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, has pledged to look into permitting musicians and artists from the UK to travel visa-free in the EU countries.
British musicians and artists are subject to extra costs and administrative limitations when touring in EU countries since the UK got out of the EU, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
It’s been very tough, particularly for musicians. So anything we can do to ease that, the better.
Before Brexit, UK citizens were permitted to travel and work within the Schengen Zone freely. However, post-Brexit, Britons can only travel to the bloc without a visa for 90 days in any 180-day period, while EU citizens are eligible to travel to the UK without visas for six months.
The UK’s Labour Party emphasized that artists have nothing to do with immigration, adding that these “brilliantly talented individuals” are simply going to another country to perform, then move on to the next state or return home.
In addition, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also called on the government to secure a visa-free agreement for musicians, artists and performers from the UK working in the EU.
According to a mayor’s spokesperson, Brexit led to increased expenses and a loss of business for UK performing artists, according to a UK ETA report.
Ministers must urgently work with the EU to create a simple and less bureaucratic system that prevents long-term damage to our world-leading music industry.
Previously, a report by the Independent Society of Musicians revealed that nearly half of UK musicians and artists have fewer work opportunities in Europe, following Brexit.
Urging UK’s PM to Negotiate Visa-free Travel for UK Artists Within EU
In order to facilitate the travel process for musicians and artists from the UK planning to travel to EU countries, in February this year, the European Movement introduced the Face the Music campaign calling on the Prime Minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak to negotiate visa-free travel for UK artists within the bloc and vice-versa.
‘Leaving the EU has destroyed people’s careers.’ That’s the view of one of the classical music world’s brightest young talents, James Henshaw. It’s the view of others working in music, too. It’s why our new campaign is urging the Government to stop the damage being done to the UK music industry.
Up to this point, the campaign by the European Movement has been signed by a total of 24,664 people.
