Carry on Touring is the UK’s umbrella campaign which all those who rely on touring can support and sit under. It brings together voices from across the touring, cultural and creative industries sector to secure political and public support for UK EU touring. The strength of our campaign is that it is inclusive reaching across the sector, industry and political parties; focusing on the real people, real lives and real jobs affected.
We have vast parliamentary support from across both houses and all parties. We are not a political campaign, Brexit has happened, as much as I personally believe it was a mistake, it isn’t going to change soon, so we must make the most of a bad job and find solutions to the issues it has raised.
Freedom of Movement
Prior to Brexit, UK citizens had Freedom of Movement, this meant that they could live, work or study in any of the EU states/Schengen area. Now that we have left the EU, it means that we no longer have that right to FoM. and that has had a huge impact on the creative industries. So much so that a lot of creatives are simply giving up their plans to tour the EU, as for many, it is no longer a viable option.
This also has a dramatic effect on our mental wellbeing and that of our fans. We stress about where will we get the work to replace what we have lost by not being able to tour in the same way as we did pre-Brexit, we lose contact with our EU friends and colleagues that we could be collaborating with and for artists that have a large EU fan base, there is the added feeling of letting down the fans and losing the kudos they have gained.
It has been a tough few years, with the dreadful pandemic and the related lockdowns, the lack of financial support and complete shutdown of gigs and tours, has led to a big increase in mental health issues, and now that we are beginning to be able to return to gigs and earning a living, we are hit with the post Brexit touring issues.
What has happened and how is it affecting our ability to continue working in the EU?
The UK is now classed as a third country and as such we require work permits and visas etc just as any other non-EU country would.
This has embroiled the creative industries in large amounts of red tape!
Below is a list of just some of the red tape we now have to deal with, it’s easy to see why, many people are simply saying: “You know what, sod that, I’m not bothering anymore!”
1. Having to obtain a carnet if you want to take anything other than your personal portable instruments, i.e., amplifiers, guitar pedals, lighting, sound equipment, laptops, cameras, etc
2. Being limited to 90 days access to the Schengen area in any 180 days
3. Having to determine what the work permit / visa requirements for each of the 27 EU states that you may be visiting during your work / tour.
4. Having to deal with the cabotage nightmare if you want to take a vehicle larger than a splitter van.
5. Ensuring that you have the correct CITES certification if you carry an item that contains elements of rare species, (woods or Ivory)
6. Ensuring that you have the correct documentation and relevant VAT registrations should you wish to sell merchandise.
7. Making sure you contact the relevant authorities to inform them of your presence and intention to perform a fee-paying engagement.
Whilst some EU countries have agreed to reduce some of the burden by stating that we do not need work permits for short term engagements, each country has its own policy on the length of the permit free period. Some like France, Germany and Spain are quite generous in that they allow 90 days, however there are some caveats to that. You do have to register with the authorities and inform them that you are working during your visit. Other countries are not so generous only allowing seven days in any one year.
In a way that has made it more difficult, because we now have to check each country we are visiting to make sure we do not fall foul of the rules.
However, that is a completely separate to the 90/180 day rule that applies to accessing the Schengen area.
In an article in the Independent, Simon Calder explains how the 90/180 day rule works:
Carry On Touring is working with parliamentarians and the creative industries to raise awareness of the problems and campaigning to urge the UK government to renegotiate the terms of the Trade and Co-Operation agreement, (TCA).
Part of our campaign has included visiting the House of Lords to give evidence to a number of parliamentarians at the invite of Lord Clement-Jones.
After that event, Lord Clement-Jones wrote to the DCMS on our behalf, his letter was countersigned by 20 MPs and peers.
We have also written several letters ourselves one of which was signed by over 1500 creative professionals asking the same, there have been a several Parliamentary Questions asked by MP’s and Peers, and the response from the DCMS has always been the same.
In the recent reply to the letter sent by Lord Clement-Jones the DCMS Minister Julia Lopez MP states:
“The UK took an ambitious approach during the negotiations with the EU that would have ensured that touring artists and their support staff did not need work-permits to perform in the EU;”
and that:
“Regrettably, these proposals were rejected by the EU”.
In his article Simon Calder states:
“Immediately after the 2016 referendum, Boris Johnson reinforced that impression when he wrote: ‘British people will still be able to go and work in the EU; to live; to study; to buy homes and settle down.’”
However, from correspondence we received from the European Commission Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner, Johannsson, in response to our questions regarding work permit and visa free travel for touring professionals and artists.
“As you are aware, when it comes to the movement of persons, the UK has chosen to no longer allow the free movement of EU citizens to the UK. In the negotiations on Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the UK refused to include a chapter on mobility in the TCA, despite the European Union offering to do so and despite both parties’ agreement – ahead of the negotiations – in the joint Political Declaration to establish non-discriminatory “mobility arrangements”.
Moreover, by refusing to include a bilateral visa waiver component in the TCA, the UK also effectively excluded agreeing on a Joint Declaration, something which usually accompanies that kind of commitment in the EU’s international agreements. Such a Joint Declaration could have enumerated the categories of activities that cannot be subject to a visa requirement for the purpose of undertaking a ‘paid activity’.”
Lord Clement-Jones also submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Cabinet Office, seeking parts of a draft text of a free trade agreement shared by the UK with the EU concerning short term business visitors.
This was refused, as was the appeal he submitted.
We will continue to campaign as we feel that it is an important issue and must be resolved as quickly as possible if our industry is to survive, and we as creatives can continue to earn a living and maintain a good level of mental wellbeing for both ourselves and our fans.
There is nothing better than seeing your favourite band playing your favourite music, it is a great escape for many fans and we must not forget that their mental wellbeing is just as important as our own.
We are an unfunded campaign, relying on donations to pay for our lobbying and website running costs. If you can help, please make a donation on our website.
Tim Brennan: Co-Director Carry On Touring Campaign
