All blogs
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2021 Conference : Building Bridges, Not Barriers
March 02, 2021
The European Movement UK is excited to invite you to "Building Bridges, Not Barriers", our 2021 online conference taking place on Saturday March 27th.
Featuring keynote speeches from leading voices in the movement, as well as panels, Q&As, networking opportunities, social events, and much more this is an event you won't want to miss.
Eight weeks of a bad Brexit deal
February 26, 2021
As the weeks roll by, Brexit just gets worse and worse and worse.
We’re now two months into this bad Brexit deal, and the consequences are being felt up and down the country. In fact, there are so many businesses, people and communities that have been affected it’s getting harder and harder to keep track of them all.
Here is a brief run-down of some of the biggest impacts of Brexit so far:
Eight weeks of Brexit: Eight people’s stories
February 24, 2021
Brexit is having a huge impact on people’s lives, businesses and communities. We’re just a couple of months into Brexit and already there are so many stories of the damage Brexit is doing – here are eight of the most shocking:
Dominic Grieve: These are not just ‘teething problems’
February 19, 2021
Just seven weeks after we left the Single Market and the Customs Union, we are already seeing the damaging effects of Brexit on British jobs and businesses. Try as they might, the government can no longer pretend that these are “teething problems”. This is the stark reality of the hard Brexit they have inflicted on the UK.
FACT CHECK: Is Green Brexit actually a thing?
February 17, 2021
By Molly Scott Cato
For the better half of a decade people have been arguing that Brexit could make Britain greener. This argument seems to be having a renaissance since we left the EU six weeks ago. Just this weekend Politico wrote an article titled “so green Brexit is actually a thing”. Let’s break this down.
Andrew Adonis Virtual UK Tour - Feb 2021
January 30, 2021
Lord Andrew Adonis will be embarking on a virtual tour of the UK in February 2021, speaking exclusively to European Movement members and sharing his valuable insights.
Dominic Grieve: “The European Movement must be a space for cross-party discussion”
January 29, 2021
Former Conservative MP and Attorney General of England & Wales Dominic Grieve encouraged the European Movement to build on the ties it has built across various political parties, in order to have an impact in this parliament.
Government U-turns on workers’ rights review
January 28, 2021
This week brought good news. Under pressure from thousands of campaigners like you, the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng yesterday announced that his department is scrapping its proposed review of workers’ rights after Brexit.
This means that crucial employment rights like the absolute maximum 48-hour working week, rest breaks at work, and holiday pay entitlements are not under imminent threat.
Over 5,500 European Movement members and supporters wrote to their MP, demanding that they uphold vital protections and ensure that the UK keeps pace with any new EU protections too. Together we were part of making the government reconsider and showed that we won’t back down on our fundamental rights.
We will keep monitoring and exposing any government plans to pull us further away from the rights we had as EU members. And we won’t stop there; we will be pushing the government to go further by keeping pace with new workers' rights protections in the EU. But for now, thank you so much for helping us win this round.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Protect Workers’ Rights
January 22, 2021
EUROPEAN MOVEMENT BRIEFING ON THE OPPOSITION DAY DEBATE MOTION TO PROTECT EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS, JANUARY 2021
Let's make a noise for musicians losing out after Brexit
January 21, 2021
In Love With The Shape Of EU
From Ed Sheeran and Brian May to Sir Elton John and Sting, more than a hundred of the biggest names in UK music this week joined forces to speak up and speak out against the government’s failure to secure post-Brexit visa-free arrangements for touring musicians that will enable them to perform throughout the EU.
Breaking Down Barriers
Under the Brexit deal, there will be more red tape for musicians as there will for everyone, whenever they transport goods into the EU, provide services or do both as in this case. There will be more paperwork, more searches of goods and more delays in crossing borders. These new tariffs and barriers for touring the EU will not only affect the performers and have immediate costs for the economy, but will also impact Britain’s cultural reputation and risk our position as a world leader in music, hurting us in the long term.
Freedom (Of Movement)
The issue of touring visas is only one of many hurdles when it comes to musicians and performers. The loss of freedom of movement is not just disastrous for UK citizens trying to earn a living in the EU, but for EU citizens working in the UK, now and in the future. For example, more than 20 per cent of musicians in some orchestras are from EU countries. Some of those EU citizens may not be able to secure settled status by the June 30 deadline, and musicians of the future will find it even harder to work in the UK.
Don't Stop Me Now
The problem of cabotage, meanwhile, will impact the ability of performers to cross multiple borders in a single tour. Under the new rules, hauliers carrying touring equipment around the EU will be limited to just two additional stops before returning to the UK, with the amount of time a British artist can spend in any of the 26 EU countries being determined by national law. Performers may require individual visas for each member state and could face £350 permits for individual instruments and other equipment. (The Common Travel Area means the rules for UK musicians travelling to Ireland are different).
The Taxman's Taken All My Dough
The limit on how many stops a touring lorry can make in the EU will be a major barrier to touring musicians who rely on UK-based hauliers to transport music equipment across the union for tours, most of which will exceed the total allowance of three stops. Adding to the costs and complications is tax. “Cultural Exemption”, which enables exemption from VAT on admission charges for cultural events in the EU, is vital for touring performers, and will now be lost. This will make tours of the EU by UK artists less viable in future.
Money Money Money
We will all suffer if these issues are not resolved. As Horace Trubridge, general secretary of the Musicians’ Union, told the House of Lords European Union committee today, the music industry alone is worth £5.8 billion to the UK economy, with more than 100,000 jobs. The music industry is of greater net value than the fishing industry, which despite being only 0.02 per cent of the British economy received considerably more consideration during the Brexit negotiations.
Unappreciated
And it is not just fishing that has received more coverage over the last few years. Overall, the creative industries sector, worth £110 billion to the UK’s economy and the fastest-growing sector, employs 700,000 more people than the financial services sector, and is worth £8 billion more than the automotive sector.
Danger Danger
Established pop stars, up-and-coming young artists, orchestras, classical musicians (see here for some heart-breaking case studies), all will suffer under the new rules, their right to ply their trades and bring joy in peril. With many performers already struggling due to the ban on live music under coronavirus restrictions, these new post-Brexit costs and red tape may push some over the edge and out of business.
Fight The Power
We will continue to fight for them, and all affected sectors, to limit the damage done by Brexit and rebuild our relationships with the EU.