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Written by Tarja Laaninen.

Background

The end of free movement between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) following Brexit has resulted in decreased mobility for EU and UK citizens, particularly for young people. For example, EU and UK touring artists and creative professionals face additional costs and administrative requirements since Brexit, not only for their own mobility, but also for the transport of equipment, which must comply with customs and haulage rules.

The first EU‑UK summit took place in London on 19 May 2025, setting out a new strategic partnership. Both parties agreed to enhance cooperation, sign agreements in several areas and hold an annual summit. Three documents were officially adopted: a joint statement, a common understanding on a renewed EU‑UK agenda and a security and defence partnership. The common understanding outlines commitments from both parties to strengthen bilateral cooperation in policy areas, such as youth, mobility, new technologies and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Further discussions and negotiations are expected to lead to new formal agreements in these areas. The EU will need to adopt negotiating mandates for new agreements, with the European Commission negotiating on behalf of the EU following authorisation from the Council.

Erasmus+, youth mobility and the youth experience scheme (YES)

When the UK formally exited the European Union on 31 January 2020, it chose not to participate in the Erasmus+ programme. EU student applications to UK universities subsequently fell, and data from HESA (the Higher Education Statistics Agency) show that the number of EU students in the UK halved between 2020/2021 and 2023/2024. Reasons include the need for a student visa, a healthcare surcharge and higher tuition fees. UK students coming to the EU also face visa requirements and higher tuition fees. For student exchanges, the UK set up the Turing scheme, which allows UK students to study abroad, including in EU universities.

After the EU‑UK summit, negotiations took place throughout 2025. In December 2025, the Commission and the British government announced the conclusion of negotiations for the UK to rejoin the EU’s Erasmus+ programme in 2027, enabling learners, students, apprentices, teachers and staff in the fields of education, youth and sport from the EU and the UK to once again benefit from opportunities for study, training and work placements. Erasmus+ is one of the best known and most successful EU‑financed programmes and the most popular exchange scheme in Europe. The UK contribution for 2027 will be approximately £570 million and covers the 2027/28 academic year. Any participation in the next multiannual financial framework (2028‑2034) will need to be agreed in the future.

However, EU students who want to study a degree in the UK are still subject to high international tuition fees. The reverse can also be true, depending on where UK‑based students decide to study in the EU.

In the common understanding from the first EU‑UK summit, the UK and EU shared the view that both parties ‘should work towards a balanced youth experience scheme on terms to be mutually agreed’. Such a scheme should facilitate the participation of young people from the EU and the UK in various activities, such as work, study, au-pairing, volunteering or simply travelling, for a limited period. It should provide a dedicated visa path and ensure that the number of participants is acceptable to both sides, possibly including a cap. Negotiations are currently underway between the European Commission and the UK government. The agreement envisaged would benefit both EU and UK citizens aged 18 to 30. Those eligible would, for example, be able to stay in the destination country for up to two to four years. The EU has also tried to negotiate domestic-level tuition fees for European students in the UK; however, the UK government and UK universities have been against the idea. In a recent joint statement, the EU and the UK expressed their willingness to conclude the negotiations by the next EU‑UK summit (expected to take place in Brussels in 2026). The UK already has similar youth schemes with 13 non‑EU countries and territories.

Culture and touring artists

After Brexit, performing artists can no longer tour and work freely across the EU and the UK. UK artists must comply with the immigration and work permit regulations in each EU Member State, including visa costs. Currently, 24 out of the 27 Member States offer time-limited visa and work permit‑free routes for touring, but the requirements and time limits vary significantly. UK artists touring the EU may also need to hire EU‑registered vehicles to comply with road haulage restrictions and need ATA carnets for going through customs with musical instruments, stage equipment and artworks. Making these kinds of arrangements is particularly challenging for young and lesser-known artists.

EU artists, entertainers or musicians touring in the UK may rely on the UK’s permitted paid engagement scheme, allowing visa‑free travel for one month for paid activities, upon invitation by a UK‑based client. In November 2025, more than 200 cultural organisations from both the EU and the UK signed the EU‑UK policy recommendations, highlighting the importance of culture in political, societal and economic relations. Solutions proposed include an EU‑wide visa waiver agreement for creative industries between the EU and the UK, or a ‘cultural exemption’ from the post-Brexit EU‑UK trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) or from carnet requirements for transporting musical equipment. However, the European Commission and UK government position is that there is no prospect of changing the TCA in the near future.

The UK Musicians’ Union has warned that 75 % of musicians who had previously worked in the EU have experienced a decline in bookings, while a 2025 Best for Britain study showed that the number of artists playing at festivals in the EU had declined by more than a quarter since Brexit. Urged by industry representatives, the UK government has clarified immigration and work permit rules with some individual EU Member States and agreed some easements for touring bilaterally, for example with Spain.

The European Parliament

In its resolution of April 2021 on the outcome of the EU‑UK negotiations, Parliament regretted the lack of ambition of the TCA on mobility policies, and welcomed the mechanism in the TCA allowing the EU and the UK to agree additional arrangements on a case-by-case basis and for specific professions.

On 27 November 2025, Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on the TCA implementation, noting that the EU‑UK summit established key steps for filling the gaps of the TCA. In December 2025, Parliament welcomed the EU‑UK agreement on Erasmus+.

From 16 to 18 February 2026, a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education met representatives from the UK government, Parliament, universities, cultural institutions and the creative sector in London to discuss the process of bringing the UK back into EU‑funded programmes, such as Erasmus+, for the post‑2027 period. They discussed barriers to cultural collaboration and practical challenges facing touring artists. The MEPs also took stock of negotiations on the EU‑UK reciprocal youth experience scheme.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘EU-UK relations: Mobility and youth opportunities‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

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