1st Report - Cultural touring in the EU

Key findings

• UK touring artists face visa and work permit barriers because artistic activities are not covered by the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, forcing compliance with each country's individual immigration rules and restricting extended tours by the 90-day-in-180-day Schengen limit.
• ATA carnets for transporting musical instruments and equipment cost up to £10,000 per orchestral tour, and cabotage rules force orchestras to hire EU-registered trucks at £16,000 per day instead of using their own subsidised vehicles.
• Known artists including Kate Nash report losses: her last European tour lost approximately £26,000; fewer bookings and job opportunities affect younger emerging artists and working-class talent disproportionately.
• The UK left Creative Europe (€2.44 billion 2021–2027 funding cycle), forgoing access to cultural cooperation and artist development programmes; the government refuses to rejoin despite being a previous net beneficiary.
• The May 2025 UK–EU 'Common Understanding' on cultural exchange produced no follow-through as of the evidence session in February 2026; the EU maintains it will not revisit the TCA and suggests only a youth mobility scheme, negotiations for which remain ongoing.

Recommendations

• The government should prioritise securing practical solutions to reduce barriers faced by UK touring artists at the next UK–EU summit and TCA review, explicitly addressing short-term touring arrangements, extended stays, customs barriers, and cabotage rules, and report back to industry on progress.
• The government should signal its intention to participate in Creative Europe/AgoraEU at the next UK–EU summit and join the programme before the 2028 funding cycle begins.
• The government should use bilateral relations with member states to seek cultural agreements in the absence of a UK–EU deal, working with industry to identify priority destinations and setting out initial bilateral discussion priorities in its response to this report.
• The government should update on unilateral activities to support UK touring artists and explore all available options including: reducing upfront costs of ATA carnets for cultural touring; reinstating orchestral tax relief for EU tours; and actively facilitating designation of St Pancras International as a CITES port of entry and exit.
• The government should establish a cultural touring advice hub building on existing export support services, offering practical expert advice on all aspects of international touring including the EU and acting as a clear access point to relevant government support, to be in place within twelve months.

Key actors

Dame Caroline Dinenage, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, Kate Nash, Musicians' Union, Association of British Orchestras, Equity, Spotlight, European Commission