AGREEMENT BETWEEN BELGIUM AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONCERNING THE PREPARATION AND OPERATION OF AN AMERICAN LINE OF COMMUNICATION IN BELGIUM
The Government of Belgium
And
The Government of the United States of America,
Noting the Agreement between the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty regarding the status of their forces, signed at London June 19, 1951;
Noting the Memorandum of March 14, 1952 between the Government of Belgium and the Government of the United States of America on relief from taxes and duties;
Noting the Belgian law of April 11, 1962, authorizing the transit through and stationing in Belgium of troops of nations allied to Belgium under the North Atlantic Treaty;
Noting the administrative arrangement signed September 6, 1968 at Brussels and September 10, 1968 at Heidelberg between the Government of the United States of America and the Belgian Government concerning prefinancing by the American forces and possible subsequent reimbursement of NATO common infrastructure projects in Belgium, for work to be carried out on existing military land, called in this agreement “Administrative Agreement of 1968”;
Considering that the installation, in time of peace, of American depots in Belgian territory is indispensable to permit the operation, beginning upon the declaration of a state of simple (niet leesbaar) to ensure the logistic support of the American (niet leesbaar) the central region of the Allied Command in Europe for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the North Atlantic Treaty;
Considering that the Belgian government has already undertaken by agreements, to
permit other States Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty to use Belgian
territory for logistic, military, and civil purposes;
Considering the duty of the Belgian Government to give priority to the use of allocation of its own resources for its essential national requirements, in all circumstances,
Are agreed as follows:
I. Subject of the Agreement
Article 1
Under the terms of this agreement, the Government of the United States of America may:
1. In time of peace:
a. Establish depots for the purpose of the activation and operation of a line of communication across Belgian territory, for the use of American forces stationed in the central region of the Allied Command in Europe
b. Station in Belgium American military and civilian personnel for the protection, maintenance, and operation of these depots
c. Store reserves of equipment, materiel, and supplies at these depots;
d. (niet leesbaar) install communication equipment necessary for peacetime custodial and maintenance operations and to ensure the functioning of the line of communication. The specifics of these installations will be the subjects of the technical agreement.
2. In a period of international tension, beginning upon the declaration of a state of simple alert by the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, or at a prior time fixed by mutual agreement by the two Governments, activate and operate the line of communications and to this end ;
a. Reinforce the personnel of the existing depots;
b. Convey through Belgium reinforcements of personnel, materiel, equipment, and supplies;
c. To the extent possible at the time, establish and/or use supplementary depots, bivouac areas, and installations for debarkation, transhipment, reception and transit;
d. Obtain various services.
II. Provision for the Period Preceding the Activation and Operation of the Line of Communications
Article 2
Article 3
III. Provision for the Period of Activations and Operation of the Line of Communications
Article 4
The reinforcement of personnel intended, on the one hand, for the protection, maintenance and operation of the depots and, on, the other hand, for the activation of the entire line of communications, will be the subject of technical agreements.
At the end of the period of tension, as mentioned in Article 1, paragraph2, to return to a normal peacetime situation, the United States will withdraw the additional personnel, materiel, equipment and supplies which it may have introduced into Belgium to activate and operate the line of communications, according to dispositions to be taken by common agreement between the two governments.
Article 5
To the extent possible at the time, the Belgian Government will provide the Government of the United States of America with the services necessary for debarkation, transhipment, reception and transit of troops, materiel, equipment and supplies to or from the central region of the Allied Command in Europe.
The Belgian military authorities will supervise the rendering of such services.
To the extent possible at the time, the Government of the United States of America may also use, according to terms and conditions fixed by mutual agreement with the Belgian Government: landing fields at airports, bivouac areas, and supplementary depots.
Article 6
Port reception Equipment;
Electronic transmission equipment;
Transport;
Medical installations;
Bridge-building equipment
Article 7
To the extent possible at the time, the Belgian Government will make available to the American military authorities, at the request of the (niet leesbaar) , and all other logistic support.
Article 8
Provisions Common to Both Periods
Article 9
This assistance will involve in particular making available depots and the recruitment, management and discharge of the civilian labor which will complement American personnel.
Article 10
All real expenses that the Belgian Government may uncut in the execution of this agreement and the technical agreements specifying the terms conditions thereof, will be borne by the Government of the United States of America. The latter will advance the necessary funds.
(niet leesbaar)
of America will remain the property of that Government. It may remove them at any time without restriction.
Article 11
1. Installations to be established on lands belonging to the Belgian State as well modifications to existing installations owned by it, will be constructed or effected on behalf of and for the account of the Government of the United States of America.
The Administrative Arrangement of 1968 will be entirely applicable.
Payment for such procurement will be made in accordance with Article 6 and 7 of the Administrative Arrangement of 1968.
The lands will be the property of the Belgian State.
The dispositions of Article 12 are applicable to installations constructed on these lands at the request of the United States.
If the installations established on these lands become eligible for NATO common financing; the sums paid for the lands to the Belgian Government will not be refunded by the latter to the Government of the United States of America.
(niet leesbaar)
as a prudent administration
(niet leesbaar)
maintenance of the lands made available to it, and will have harming animals destroyed in according with Belgian legislation
Article 12
Article 13
Article 14
These authorities shall be responsible for the execution of the agreement.
They will submit differences that may arise regarding the interpretation of the agreement to the Ministers of Defence of the two nations. The Ministers will resolve the differences by mutual agreement.
The military authorities will designate members of their staffs who will represent them in committees or working groups to which they may assign studies to be carried out jointly.
Upon consent of both governments, representatives of other parties to the North Atlantic Treaty may be invited to participate in appropriate meetings or discussions concerning Line of Communications planning.
Article 15
1. This agreement shall enter into force on the date of its signature.
It shall continue in force as long as each of the parties is bound by obligations resulting from the North Atlantic Treaty, unless one of the parties denounces it before ceasing to be bound by the aforesaid Treaty. The denunciation, which shall be by written notification to the other party, will take effect six months after the receipt of this notification.
(niet leesbaar)
Et en Anglais, les deux textes faisant également foi.
Done at Brussels, the 16th and 19th of July, 1971, in English and French, both texts being equally authentic.
Pour le Gouvernement belge:
For the Belgian Government:
(sé) Harmel
16 juillet 1971
Pour le Gouvernement des Etats-Unis d’Amérique:
For the Government of the United States of America:
(sé) John SD Eisenhower
July 19, 1971