Brussels, May 26, 1969.
My dear General,
I have the honour to refer to the Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands
and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) on the special conditions
applicable to the establishment and operation of International Military Headquarters
within the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, signed at Paris on
25th May, 1964. Considering that the Headquarters of the Allied Forces in Central
Europe (AFCENT) are being located within the Netherlands in accordance with Article
II of the said Agreement, and considering that my Government is prepared to grant
privileges and immunities to AFCENT on conditions no less favourable than those granted
by the French Government, my Government deems it desirable to formulate, together
with SHAPE, certain provisions with respect to AFCENT as a supplement to the Agreement
of May 25th, 1964. To this end, I have the honour to propose the following provisions:
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1) AFCENT and its assets, income and other property shall be exempt from all direct taxes:
however, they shall be liable to rates, taxes or dues which are no more than charges
for public utility services.
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2) AFCENT shall be exempt from all taxes levied on goods sold, or on services rendered,
in the messes, bars and canteens operated by it, provided that access thereto is regulated
by provisions having received the prior approval of the competent Netherlands authorities
and that they are run on a non-commercial basis.
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3) The military and civilian personnel attached to AFCENT who are not Netherlands nationals
shall be exempt from Netherlands motorvehicle tax in respect of not more than two
privately owned motorvehicles each.
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4) Military and civilian personnel of AFCENT shall be exempt from the obligation to take
out an insurance policy as required by the provisions laid down by and in virtue of
the Motor Vehicle Third Party Liability Act, until 1 April, 1969.
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5) General officers attached to AFCENT holding positions of high responsibility shall
be authorized to use CD plates, which will be delivered to them, it being understood
that the registration mark shall consist of the letters CD and a number of two digits
preceded by the letter A.
The list of general officers benefiting from this privilege shall be agreed between
the Netherlands Government and SHAPE.
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6) The authorizations to operate vehicles registered by AFCENT, to be issued by AFCENT
in accordance with standards to be agreed upon with the competent Netherlands authorities
shall also be regarded as valid driving licenses as described in Section 9 of the
“Wegenverkeerswet” (Road Traffic Act, 13th September, 1935, Bulletin of Acts, Orders
and Decrees No. 554).
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7) The present provisions shall enter into force, with retroactive effect as from 15th
March, 1967, on the date on which SHAPE has been notified by the Netherlands Government
that the conditions constitutionally required in the Netherlands for their entry into
force have been complied with.
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8) The present provisions shall remain in force during the time that the Agreement of
May 25th, 1964 is in vigour and that AFCENT is located within the Netherlands. The
date on which any one of these two conditions is no longer fulfilled shall also be
the date of the termination of the present provisions.
I have the honour to propose, that, if the provisions set forth above are acceptable
to SHAPE, the present Note and your affirmative reply constitute a supplementary agreement
between the Netherlands Government and SHAPE, and that the foregoing provisions be
applied provisionally as from the date of the said reply.
Please accept, my dear General, the assurances of my highest consideration.
(sd.) H. N. BOON
Permanent Representative
of the Netherlands
to the North Atlantic Council.
To:
General Lyman L. Lemnitzer
Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Casteau
Belgium
