It has been reported in a number of media outlets this morning that only one of 27 EU countries has agreed a post-Brexit deal to enable musicians to tour work-permit free in Europe.

It is stated in the Daily Express, Independent and Euro Weekly News that at present only Spain has signed a bilateral agreement following a Government pledge made almost nine months ago to 'fix' the issue.

It is understood that the agreement allows musicians to work free for 90 days out of every 180.

Not materialised

Deborah Annetts, the CEO of the Incorporated Society of Musicians is reported by the Daily Express as saying that the "proposed solutions such as bilateral agreements with EU states have not materialised", leading to serious problems continuing with "cabotage, carnets and designated ports".

Meanwhile, the Euro Weekly News reports that in the letter sent to the new Brexit Minister Lizz Truss, Deborah Annetts states that; "All the problems first identified as facing the creative sector due to the TCA, in the Brexit trade deal, still remain."

She added: "All these issues are adversely impacting the UK music industry and the broader creative industries, which is worth £116bn per annum."

Slippery slope

As previously reported by the Independent newspaper, Opera singer Dame Sarah Connolly stated that the situation facing British musicians wanting to tour Europe as being "a seeping, pallid, undercooked, slippery slope".

In March last year the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had stated that "we must fix"it when asked about the problems encountered, whilst the claim later made that 21 of the 27 states had in fact allowed work-free permits to their countries was widely lambasted as being incorrect.

News of the Spanish deal was reported by the Musicians Union in November, stating that it has come about "as a result of industry pressure and some great work by LIVE (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment) and the Association of British Orchestras and their counterparts in Spain."

Taken together with the visa issue still affecting other areas of the EU, the impacts of Brexit continue to cause a logistical nightmare for Europe-wide toursLIVE

Nightmare

LIVE has called on the Government to work with individual EU Governments to tackle the problem of visas and permits, especially with a focus on 7 member states with the most urgent issues.

They stated: "Taken together with the visa issue still affecting other areas of the EU, the impacts of Brexit continue to cause a logistical nightmare for Europe-wide tours."

Find out more:

To find out more about the Musicians Union go to: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/