The Diplomat
Yesterday came into force the Agreement between Spain and the Netherlands for the exchange and mutual protection of classified information, signed almost a year ago.
The objective of the agreement, approved by the Council of Ministers last February and published this week in the Official State Gazette (BOE), is to guarantee the protection of classified information exchanged between the two countries, or by natural or legal persons under their jurisdiction, or generated in the framework of a bilateral program under this Agreement. The text establishes the procedures and security measures for such protection.
The ratification of the agreement will contribute to the preservation of Spain’s interests in its international relations, since these sometimes require the exchange of information which, because it affects security or national interests, must have a degree of classification and be subject to special processes of use and handling in order to preserve that integrity.
In particular, in the field of the defense and armaments industry, manufacturing, assembly or supply contracts often involve the sharing of confidential devices or procedures. It is therefore necessary to establish rules under which States can safely share such classified information. This agreement constitutes an essential legal instrument that will favor the development of the Spanish defense industry and bilateral trade exchanges in this sector.
As published in the BOE, this Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. As regards the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the text will apply to the European and Caribbean areas of the Netherlands (the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba).
The agreement, signed in Madrid on September 23, 2021 by the then director of the National Intelligence Center, Paz Esteban López, and the Dutch ambassador to Spain, Jan Versteeg – who will soon be replaced by Roel Nieuwenkamp – is the first bilateral treaty between Spain and the Netherlands since 2008, when two agreements on the exchange of tax information between Spain and the Netherlands Antilles came into force. Both countries have numerous bilateral treaties on social security, double taxation and other matters.
