“The CEC brings together creative and cultural organisation from across the UK and EU with a shared ambition to transform the inaugural 2025 UK:EU Summit’s Common Understanding commitment to support cultural exchange into meaningful actions – strengthening creative collaboration and removing barriers and driving shared growth.”
On 23rd March 2026 members of the UK Cultural Exchange Coalition made their case for easier artist mobility to Minister for Creative industries Rt Hon Ian Murray MP and MEP‘s Hannes Heide and Bogdan Zdrojewski in the European Parliament.
A packed meeting room heard from:
Panellists:
Lies Martens, Rosas Dance Company (BE)
Suzanne Walker, Sadlers Wells Theatre (UK)
Johannes Everke, BDKV (DE)
Dave Kay / Joe Pointing, AdLib Audio / PLASA (UK)
Davinia Galea, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, (MT)
Peredur ab Gywnedd – Musician with Pendulum, Musicians’ Union / Carry On Touring (UK)
how difficult it has been since Brexit for artists and performers to travel and work across the European Union, depriving them of their full livelihoods and European audiences from richer musical and other artistic experiences and increased tourism all round.
Practical demands were made:
1. Bespoke solutions to support mobility of touring artists:
In the EU: We strongly welcome the commitment in the EU Visa Strategy to “explore new rules for extended short stays for selected categories of third-country professionals, such as touring artists”.
These should include:
a. Short-term touring: The EU and Member States should align and expand existing national exemptions for short cultural engagements, so that performing artists and essential crew can undertake short, ad hoc paid work across the Schengen area within the 90 days in any 180-day period, under clear, predictable and consistent conditions.
b. Longer engagements: A dedicated touring visa for artists and crew, allowing stays in the Schengen area beyond the 90 days in any 180-day period. In the UK:
c. Broaden eligibility for Permitted Paid Engagements (PPE): The current PPE requirement that the engagement must relate directly to an individual’s “full-time profession” (and “main job”) is too restrictive for many creative professionals, who often combine several roles and income streams. The UK should broaden eligibility to be based on professional practice and being established in the field, rather than whether the activity is linked to a single full-time occupation.
2. A cultural exemption for ATA carnets
The UK and EU Member States should work to reach bilateral agreements to remove logistical and financial burden of ATA carnets for cultural professionals.
3. Cabotage exemption
The UK and EU should negotiate an exemption for cultural activities and “Own Account” operators as part of the 2026 TC A review.
4. Merchandise
The UK and EU should seek a bilateral agreement to exempt merchandise carried by touring artists and companies from certain customs and VAT requirements.
5. Withholding tax
Introduce minimum thresholds so that withholding tax is only charged to touring musicians once they are earning over a certain amount (e.g. €30000) to reduce the financial and administrative burden on emerging and developing musicians.
6. AgoraEU
The UK should join Creative Europe, now part of AgoraEU, to offer new funding avenues for increased UK-EU creative collaboration and co-productions.
“Join Creative Europe” was a strong message to British Minister for Creative Industries
Half a dozen participants including Carole Tongue, Chair of the UKCCD and ECCD coalitions for cultural diversity and former MEP Julie Ward, Board Member of Culture Action Europe called for the UK to join the Creative Programme as one of the best ways to secure cultural exchange and cooperation with our European friends as well as securing a boost to everyone’s creative and tourism economy.
Responses from the UK Minister, MEPs, and EU Commission representative gave real hope that practical measure to solve mobility issues and even Creative Europe membership have now moved higher on their agenda.
EVENING RECEPTION
A joyful reception was held at the Residence of the UK Mission to the EU with amazing singer songwriter Imogen and the Knife.
MEP Laurence Farreng bemoaned the lack of cultural exchange between the UK and EU since Brexit and urged the UK to join Creative Europe. Minister Ian Murray, clearly having a great evening, celebrated the CEC initiative and promised to further the practical demands to make touring and cultural exchange easier.
UK Music CEO Tom Kiiehl made an impassioned plea for policy makers to solve the practical issues and get artists and performers moving freely across Europe.