EU-UK Summit: Visa Waiver Agreement

Baroness Blake of Leeds Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Clancarty]

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to negotiate a visa waiver agreement for creative professionals touring the EU; and whether this will be on the agenda at the EU-UK summit on 19 May.

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to a closer and more co-operative relationship with the EU. The UK-EU summit will be an important milestone towards a new strategic partnership, and we will provide further details on the agenda in due course. We are engaging constructively with the EU and member states to improve touring arrangements, allowing our artists to contribute to Europe’s rich cultural landscape and support shared growth while respecting the regulatory frameworks on both sides.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, it is a little disappointing that the Government cannot confirm, with 11 days to go, whether touring will be on the agenda of the 19 May summit. Talking with other EU Culture Ministers is helpful—if this was discussed by Chris Bryant in Poland—but would the Minister not agree that, ultimately, this issue has to be resolved directly with the EU, not least because of the significant cross-border aspects to the problem? Cabotage is a major aspect of that. The Government promised to sort this; they need to do so.

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I thank the noble Earl for his continued interest and for putting us all under pressure on this important issue. I emphasise that supporting touring artists was a manifesto commitment for the Government a year ago. As such, it is a priority for the Government. We remain in constructive dialogue with the EU on tackling the challenges facing cultural and creative professionals and their support staff when touring in the EU, along with many other issues. It is a very important date in the diary, and we will provide details of the agenda in due course.

[Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)]

My Lords, as part of our inquiry into the EU-UK reset, the European Affairs Committee of this House took evidence from the Independent Society of Musicians recently and was told that, since the Brexit agreement, there has been a very unlevel playing field for our UK musicians. It is not just an unlevel playing field: it seems a number of own goals were scored in the drawing up of the agreement, not just on cabotage but on carnets and musical instrument certificates. So can my noble friend the Minister assure me that there will be full discussions with the music industry and creative artists before 19 May so that there is a thorough grasp of the problems facing them?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I can reassure my noble friend. She raises very important points about some of the failings and inadequacies of the arrangements that came through the original discussions, which are absolutely critical. I reassure my noble friend that, as well as Minister Bryant visiting counterparts in Europe, officials are engaging on a regular basis. Obviously, consultation with the sector is paramount. We need to make sure that, in moving forward and achieving the reset and rebalance, we put the needs of everyone on the table and make sure that we do not leave anyone out of the future discussions.

[Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (LD)]

My Lords, as was said by the two previous speakers, the results of Brexit are causing absolute havoc with the abilities of our creatives to tour. I want to pick up the cabotage rules, which limit the number of stops a British vehicle can make in the EU to three. We hear a lot about rock tours, but actually our orchestras are being severely affected by this. The Royal Philharmonic says that the resources it is losing are directly impacting on its education programme. Can the Minister assure us that this is on the agenda in the UK-EU reset talks?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness. We have discussed cabotage in this Chamber before. It is extremely complex. I do not know how it could have come about that it was not foreseen that having to stop at all the different borders of EU countries would not present an enormous problem.

This issue is certainly on the agenda generally and is the subject of discussions. I look forward to the outcome of many of these discussions, and particularly the outcome of the summit itself, which is going to be a very important and wider moment in terms of bringing politicians and officials together on a whole range of issues.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, put forward a really strong point, for which there is widespread support in the House. At the summit there will obviously be requests from many other groups and organisations. Can the Minister give a firm assurance to Parliament that the price of these special waivers will not be any concessions on fisheries?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I am given some challenges at the Dispatch Box, but I have to say that that is a particular one. The point that I am trying to get across is that the discussions, particularly at the summit, have to consider the broadest range of issues that are facing us through the reset and setting up strategic partnerships. I shall certainly take back the comment about fisheries—but I am sure that other people will be making important points as well.

[Lord Berkeley of Knighton (CB)]

Let us get back to the broader issues—and one of them is this. Culture, whether it be music, dance or drama, depends on the exchange of ideas. What we have at the moment is a profoundly philistine situation, and it is affecting individuals. I have heard from the leaders of opera houses and festivals in Europe that they are—let us put it this way—reluctant to engage British artists at the moment because of the costs.

As the Minister mentioned, we have had recent exchanges on the Floor of the House about this problem, and I was very heartened to hear Brexiteers—people from the right, including the noble Lord, Lord Frost—say that this needs finessing. So please will the Government get on with this with more urgency than the previous Government did?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I add my thanks to all the contributions around this. In this context it is particularly important to recognise that it is not just musicians who are being affected by the situation in Europe; it is a very broad area. I personally have been in contact with opera singers who are struggling to take up short-term pieces of work in Europe, for example. Of course, our concern remains with young people and how they go out and make their mark on a wider stage. So, absolutely, this is a priority, and we should be heartened by the fact that Minister Bryant went over to Poland in February—the first Minister to do so—to build on the relationships, as so much of this is about relationships, making face-to-face contact and making sure that the important matters before us are kept on the agenda.

[Baroness Keeley (Lab)]

My Lords, a further issue for UK orchestras is the issue of withholding tax, incurred when they tour to countries such as Germany, Spain and Italy. In Germany, withholding tax is reclaimable, but it can take up to two years to be refunded. One London orchestra is awaiting a £250,000 refund from Germany, making a serious dent in its cash flow. Possible mitigation of this would be exemptions for cultural organisations or other measures to ease the administrative burden. Will discussions on this be held in the EU-UK summit on 19 May?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for raising this important issue. Of course, the UK Government recognise the financial and administrative challenges that withholding tax presents for UK artists touring in the EU. I can reassure the noble Baroness that we are carefully considering the most effective ways to help our touring artists to contribute to Europe’s rich cultural landscape, so that we can provide European audiences with a diverse offering and support UK-EU cultural collaboration. I can only repeat that I cannot be more specific about the 19 May summit—but it is a very important issue that she raises.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, it is disappointing that, with 11 days to go before the summit, the Minister cannot yet answer the question that the noble Earl poses on behalf of our creative professionals, particularly when the Government are now admitting what they had previously denied—that they are open to a youth mobility scheme with the European Union. Rather than allowing young people with no job to come to the UK without restriction, would not it be better to prioritise the hard-working creative professionals who want to tour more readily across the continent, bringing joy to our lives as well as value to our economies?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

At the top of my lines, I do have the advice to make sure that we keep the collaborative spirit between us. But can I be frank? We have a summit coming up a week on Monday. Is that not progress from where we were before?