Exhibit 12.1  CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002  I, Peter J. Ventress, certify that:  1.I have
reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of Corporate Express N.V.;  2.Based on my
knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact
or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in
light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;  3.Based on my
knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included
in this annual report, fairly present in all material respects the financial
condition, results of operations and cash flows of the company as of, and for,
the periods presented in this report;  4.The companys other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting
(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:  a.Designed such disclosure
controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to
be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating
to the company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by
others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this
report is being prepared;  b.Designed
such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control
over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide
reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles;  c.Evaluated the effectiveness
of the companys disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this
report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this annual report based on
such evaluation; and  d.Disclosed in this report any
change in the companys internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect, the companys internal control over
financial reporting; and  5.The companys other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to
the companys auditors and the audit committee of the companys board of
directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):  a.All significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial
reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrants
ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and  b.Any fraud, whether or not material, that
involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrants internal control over financial reporting.


Date:
  March 7, 2008/s/ Peter J. VentressPeter J. VentressChief Executive Officer