./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/Notif.99.321
9 July 1999
(99-2854)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   BELGIUM
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  Belgium
2. Agency responsible:
Ministry of the Interior
Directorate General of Police
Rue Royale 56B-1000 Brussels
Tel.: +32 2 500 24 99
Agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be
indicated if different from above:           
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:           
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Vehicles used by
security firms and internal security services in connection with the secure transport ofvaluables.
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Royal Order on the
Technical Characteristics and Approval of Vehicles for the Transport of Valuables used by
Security Firms and Internal Security Services
6. Description of content:   The present draft Royal Order more or less reiterates the
provisions of the Royal Order of 28 February 1997 which was notified to the European
Commission at the time. However, a number of provisions have been refined and adapted in
the light of practical experience. Moreover, the standards relating to the armour-plating of
vehicles have been adapted to the relevant provisions of the collective agreement of25 February 1998 which ended the long strike of security guards (provoked by further
violent attacks on security vehicles) at the beginning of 1998.
Moreover, the draft contains a number of provisions concerning vehicles included
in the Royal Order (also notified) of 28 February 1997 regulating certain methods relating
to the secure transport of valuables, although by nature more relevant to the present order.
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:
To ensure the secure transport of valuables, the Belgian authorities have opted for a strategy
which, firstly, must act as a deterrent and result in making any attack on security vehicles
unprofitable and, at the same time, increasingly risky for the attackers. The vulnerability of
security vehicles is determined, on the one hand, by the nature of the valuables transported
(documents, coins, banknotes, etc.) and, on the other, by the security regulations applied, in
particular:G/TBT/Notif.99.321
Page 2
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable
(cont'd):
- The methods employed, such as the use of an approved security system, among
those stipulated in the Royal Order concerning the protection of the transport of
valuables;  and
- the technical characteristics of the vehicles used for transporting valuables featuring
in the Royal Order concerning the technical characteristics and approval of vehicles
used for the transport of valuables by secu rity firms and internal security services.
The methods and minimum technical requirements to be used, with which the
vehicles for transporting valuables must co mply, vary according to the security risks to
which the various forms of transport are exposed. The more risky the form of transport, the
stricter the accompanying security measures.
A further attack on a vehicle transporting valuables, with fatal consequences,
resulted in an extended security guard strike at the beginning of 1998. The signing of the
collective agreement of 25 February 1998 finally brought an end to the strike which lasted
for weeks.
This collective agreement, which incorporates additional security measures,
provides, among other things, for:
- The cancellation of the time limit for the introduction of approved security systems
(16/3/99), as this date was unrealistic (and had meanwhile been postponed);
- the compulsory wearing of bullet-proof vests for most high-risk transport
operations;
- the reinforcement of the minimum armour-plating specified by the law on vehicles
for transporting valuables (the armour-plating must withstand fire from a
Kalashnikov using Chinese-made ammunition).
To provide a legal basis for the provisions of this collective agreement it is
necessary to amend, as a matter of urgency, not only the Royal Order concerning certainmethods relating to the secure transport of valuables but also the Royal Order concerning
the technical characteristics and approval of vehicles used for the transport of valuables by
security firms and internal security services. The two orders should be read in conjunction.
8. Relevant documents:   -
9. Proposed date of adoption:
Proposed date of entry into
force:} 60 days
10. Final date for comments:
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ X ] or address, e-mail and telefax
number of the other body: CIBELNOR