LONDON (AP) – British musicians are demanding that the UK government faces the music after new post-Brexit regulations failed to consider their unique work lives and left them in the lurch.

                  Nearly 260,000 people - including U.K. artists Laura Marling, Louis Tomlinson and Biffy Clyro - have signed a petition for the British government to negotiate a review of the rules for musicians touring in the 27-nation <a href="/topics/european-union/">European Union</a>.












                  After Brexit U.K. citizens can no longer live and work freely in the bloc. Tourists don’t need visas for stays of up to 90 days, and some short business trips are allowed under a new deal between Britain and the <a href="/topics/european-union/">EU</a>. But artists and musicians have not been included - incurring extra costs and hassle - and both sides disagree about who is to blame.
















                  British musicians wanting to perform in Europe face a range of hurdles, including the extra cost of buying a customs document - known as a carnet - for the movement of equipment, and the possibility of additional work permits required in certain countries.












                  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, Jamie Davies said London had sought reciprocal rights for musicians and support staff to tour without work permits, “but that offer was rejected by the <a href="/topics/european-union/">EU</a>.” 














                  “We will continue to make the case for an arrangement that makes touring easier, and our door remains open to the <a href="/topics/european-union/">EU</a> if they change their mind,” Davies said.




























                  Even though the pandemic is currently preventing tours, the ability to plan now is vital, said Paul Pacifico, CEO of the Association of Independent Music, which represents the U.K.’s independent music sector.












                  Red tape around sales tax alone will force smaller outfits to face a mountain of additional bureaucracy and expense, Pacifico said.












                  “If you’re a band on tour and you sell a CD in Germany, you’re going to have to make a sales tax return in Germany,” he said. “Same for France, Italy, Croatia, Belgium, Luxembourg, etc.”









                    <a name="pagebreak"/>




                  European bands hoping to play in the U.K. will also be affected.










                  Swedish punk band The Hives frontman Pelle Almqvist said his group, which first found international fame in Britain, will now have to think twice before playing live there.

                  “We’ll probably end up doing (fewer) shows in the UK because there’ll be less of an economic incentive,” Almqvist said Wednesday. “I don’t know, worst case scenario playing in the UK turns into hobby.”

                  British composer and House of Lords member Michael Berkeley, is also calling for a return to the negotiating table.

                  “I would like them to go back to the <a href="/topics/european-union/">EU</a> and hammer out a deal which would give a 90-day visa, or at least a very considerable visa, so that it became financially feasible to tour abroad,” Berkeley said.

                  He added that the expense of travelling with instruments also needs to be addressed. 

                  “If you’re a cellist, you can’t do without your cello. And people have to buy a second seat on an airplane as well as a 400-pound ($550) carnet,” Berkley said “It just becomes impossible. You know, there isn’t that much money in, for example, classical music to cover these extra costs.”

                  The petition - created by industry freelancer Tim Brennan - calls for London to negotiate a free cultural work permit with Brussels providing visa-free travel throughout the <a href="/topics/european-union/">EU</a> for touring professionals, bands, musicians, artists, as well as TV and sports celebrities. It also seeks carnet exception for touring equipment.

                  Jason Williamson of English duo Sleaford Mods is optimistic a solution can be found, but worries about the misery being caused in the meantime.

                  “People are panicking about it,” he said. “It couldn’t have come at a worse time, really.”

                  ___

                  Sian Watson contributed to this story.







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The Slovenian government said on Thursday (14 January) it had restored the financing of national news agency STA after Brussels warned against any attempt to pressure public media outlets.

STA has come under fire from right-wing Prime Minister Janez Janša for what he called unfair criticism in its reporting.

“We have authorised the payment” to the agency, a government statement said.

The government announced it was halting money for STA in December after saying management had failed to correctly file accounts.

Later in December, parliament adopted a package of emergency coronavirus measures which included a provision calling for the resumption of STA payments.

However, the government then referred the question to the European Union claiming the funding could breach EU rules on state aid and competition.

The European Commission insisted Monday the nature of the funding meant it did not have to approve the payments and warned all member states against attempts to pressure the media, saying public media “play a special role in the European Union”.

STA was founded in 1990 when the country decided to leave the former Yugoslav federation and it had been receiving two million euros in public funds annually.

Since assuming office in March, Janša has used his Twitter account to attack media outlets which have questioned his handling of the coronavirus crisis, accusing them of spreading lies and serving opposition interests.

In October, Janša tweeted that STA was a “national disgrace, an evident abuse of the name it carries” for having given more space to an interview with a musician who criticised the government than to his meeting with close ally Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s nationalist prime minister.

Janša is well-known as an admirer of Orbán and of outgoing US President Donald Trump.

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The regions of the Ionian and Aegean islands, as well as Epirus, are the only areas in Europe in the ‘green zone’ in terms of Covid-19 exposure and performance, according to data released by European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the 14 days preceded by January 14th.

The map image of Greece regarding the spread of the coronavirus shows an improved state, compared to the other countries of the European Union.

At a time when most of the EU countries are in the “red zones” (a high-risk category that arises if the cases of the last 14 days are 50 or more per 100,000 inhabitants in combination with 4% positive tests or if the cases are more than 150 per 100,000 inhabitants), Greece is substantially in the “yellow”, in the recording of the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the last 14 days, which in combination with the percentage of positive tests, reflects both the rate of spread of the disease and its penetration dynamics in the community.

As can be seen in the map below, the situation is much better (“green”) in Epirus, Ionian islands, and Aegean islands.

At the same time, while most of the countries of the Union are in the “red”, the situation in our country has improved in the index of positivity (cases/number of tests), which has fallen below 4%, according to the measurements announced today Fifth by the European agency and relate to last week.

Agadir – The number of detected irregular border crossings along the European Union’s external borders fell by 13% in 2020. According to figures collected by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, this was primarily due to the COVID-19 restrictions many countries put in place. 

Both Western and Eastren Meditarenean saw a marked decrease in irregular migration last year. The Western Meditarenean, primarily Spain, recorded 17,000 arrivals, a 28% decrease compared to 2019. Meanwhile, the Eastern Meditaranean recorded only 20,000 border crossings, a decrease of 76%, the biggest drop in arrivals across the EU.

While COVID-19 restrictions certainly have played their part in reducing irregular migration, also notable have been Morocco’s efforts to curb irregular crossings.

Morocco has witnessed continued success in stopping attempted irregular migration operations bound for Spain, causing undocumented migrants passing through Morocco to seek new routes, such as crossing the Atlantic towards the Canary Islands. 

As a result, the Canary Islands experienced a record number of undocumented migrantion in 2020, with over 22,600 irregular border crossings detected on the Western African migratory route. With an increase of eight times compared to 2019, this was the highest number of irregular border crossings recorded by Frontex since it began collecting data in 2009.

<p>Most migrants departed from West African countries such as Mauritania, Senegal, and Gambia, with smugglers using large fishing boats capable of carrying large numbers of people at once.

Similarly, the Central Mediterranean route also saw an increase of traffic, recording 35,600 arrivals, an increase of 154%. Tunisia saw a sharp growth of departures, but most undocumented migrants came from Libya.
A notable point of the report is the decline in child migration, with approximately 10% of irregular migrants being under the age of 18, compared to 23% in 2019. 

The government’s proposals to enable British musicians to tour the EU without having to negotiate individual visa requirements for each member state were not fit for purpose, according to an EU spokesperson.

As it stands, British musicians may be forced to pay for country-specific visas and equipment carnets when touring the continent – a situation that has been decried by the British music industry as prohibitively expensive and laborious, potentially limiting its £5.8bn contribution to the economy.

The government and the EU have been blaming one another for the breakdown of negotiations regarding visa-free touring on the continent since the Independent reported on Sunday that the UK has refused to allow European acts 90 days of visa-free travel, prompting widespread condemnation, including from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, who called the government “spineless”.

On Wednesday, culture secretary Oliver Dowden sought to blame the EU for the red tape facing British touring musicians, telling NME that it had “repeatedly” turned down the government’s proposal for a “mutually beneficial agreement that would have allowed performers to continue working and perform across the continent without the need for work permits”.

But the government’s proposal would not have solved the problem of British musicians having to negotiate individual visa requirements with each member state, according to a spokesperson from the EU.

Having refused to include a chapter on mobility in the Brexit agreement, the UK government rejected the EU’s standard offer of visa-free short stays – working up to 90 days in a 180-day period – and a list of paid activity exemptions that could exclude musicians, artists, sportspeople and journalists from the requirement to seek visas to work in individual member states. This offer was incompatible with the Conservative manifesto commitment to taking back control of Britain’s borders, the government claimed.

Instead, the UK attempted to negotiate the issue via the short-term business visitor category and the category for contractual service suppliers and independent professionals known as Mode 4. The World Trade Organization says Mode 4 “does not concern persons seeking access to the employment market in the host member”.

Neither category covers musicians, said the EU spokesperson. It would also be ineffective: Mode 4 discussions are neutral on the matter of visas, meaning that requirements regarding entry and temporary stay continue to apply. Even if the EU had agreed to the UK’s proposal, British musicians would still be left facing the same red tape.

DCMS said the EU’s statement was misleading. The government claimed that its proposals would have allowed musicians to travel and perform in the UK and the EU without needing work permits, and that the EU’s offer only covered ad-hoc performances and did not address technical staff or the issue of work-permits.

A DCMS spokesperson told the Guardian it stood by Dowden’s earlier comments. “I’m afraid it was the EU letting down music on both sides of the Channel – not us,” Dowden had told NME.

The EU declined the UK’s offer of 30 days’ visa-free work for EU musicians on the grounds that this is the UK’s existing standard policy and offered no added value to its members, and because it offered significantly less than the EU proposal at the mobility negotiation.

Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, chief executive of UK Music, said the industry had “no interest in playing a blame game. We just want to understand what has happened and then take steps to resolve this situation. We need both sides to work with the music industry to find a solution that benefits everyone. It is vital that all sides now get around the table and agree a way forward that avoids needless red tape and bureaucracy that could put some tours in jeopardy.”

Speaking to the liaison committee on Wednesday, prime minister Boris Johnson did not appear to grasp the situation facing British touring acts, incorrectly stating that British musicians have “the right to go play in any EU country for 90 out of 180 days” – the EU proposal that the government turned down.

A petition seeking a Europe-wide, visa-free working permit for music touring professionals, bands, musicians, artists, TV and sports celebrities has reached in excess of 257,600 signatures, with backing from musicians including Dua Lipa, Biffy Clyro and Laura Marling. The lack of a resolution could rule out or severely limit EU touring, according to musicians.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Johnson said he would meet with MPs to address their concerns on the matter. “I know that our friends in the EU will be wanting to go further to improve things for not just musicians, but business travellers of all kinds,” he said. “There is a mutual benefit.”