UK government will not pursue visa-free EU travel for musicians

British musicians who wish to tour the European Union will be required to obtain visas for each country they wish to perform in after the Conservative government declined to negotiate a special waiver, according to a report from The Guardian.

In preparation for a post-Brexit landscape, The Musicians’ Union has pushed the government to create special "musician passports." These documents would last for at least two years, and cover travel to all EU member states for musicians and their touring crews.

Digital and Culture Minister Caroline Dinenage insisted on Tuesday that "the door is open" for a solution, but any future agreement “wouldn’t be about a waiver but about facilitation."

Both the UK and the EU have engaged in a fractious debate over the issue with each side blaming the other for a lack of progress. Dinenage has accused EU representatives of rejecting a "tailored deal," while an EU official told The Guardian that the government had refused to negotiate and misrepresented aspects of its proposal in public statements.

The push for musician passports has gathered wide public support. A Change.org petition gathered over 113,000 signatures, and on Wednesday The Times published an open letter calling for the waivers signed by Sting, Sir Bob Geldof, and Sir Elton John.