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Free movement of musicians
Music professionals who originate from an EU country are allowed to travel and work freely within the territory of all EU Member States, as provided by Article 39 (freedom of movement for workers), Art 43 (freedom of establishment) and Art 49 (freedom to provide services) of the EC Treaty. Thanks to mobility schemes such as the Socrates/Erasmus Programme of the European Union, an increasing number of music students gain international experience and are therefore more interested in and more suited for an international career. Although music is by nature a field of study and work in which there has always been a great deal of mobility, problems that occur when music professionals or students travel can be numerous.
Diploma recognition is one of the areas in which serious problems can occur when travelling abroad to undertake studies, to be employed or to set up a company. There are several international developments which aim at improving the mobility situation by increasing transparency and comparability of national educational systems, such as the Bologna Declaration Process (English Français Deutsch) and the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
In order to address these issues, an independent study (MA thesis) made for Polifonia in 2005 dealt with the following research areas:
- The Treaty articles, case law and secondary legislation applicable to the free movement of professional musicians and music students in the EU.
- The main obstacles to the free movement of professional musicians and music students within the EU.
- The regulated professions in music in EU countries.
- Implementation of the objectives of the Bologna Declaration in the professional music training sector in EU countries.
The first chapter discusses the Treaty articles, case law and secondary legislation applicable to the free movement of professional musicians and music students. A distinction is made between the free movement of workers and the free movement of the self-employed, analysing the rights and entitlements of EU migrants in each situation.
The second chapter is dedicated to the recognition of qualifications as regards the regulated professions. Following a study of the concept of regulated professions and the latest developments in this field, an overview of regulated professions in music per EU Member State has been included and analysed.
Recent developments in European higher education, focussing on the effects and implementation of the Bologna Process in professional music training, are treated in the third chapter. This chapter furthermore includes an overview of the implementation of several important aspects in professional music training in individual countries: the two-cycle system (Bachelor-Master), a system for quality assurance and the ratification of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
The greatest obstacle to the mobility of people working (or studying) in the music performance or music teaching sector in the European Union seems to be the bureaucracy and inflexibility of nationals systems which prevent migrants and other foreign workers from receiving equal treatment. The recommendations therefore include the establishment of a ‘one-stop-shop’, preferably online, for music professionals, music students, recognition agencies dealing with music qualifications, institutions for professional music training, governments and quality assurance agencies. An important and useful part of the web application would be to provide clear information on European legislation, explaining not only the rights and entitlements of music professionals but also where they should to go when they suspect that their rights are being violated.
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