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Treaty Establishing the European Communityas Amended by Subsequent TreatiesROME, 25 March 1957CONTENTSProtocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European CommunitiesCHAPTER I. PROPERTY, FUNDS, ASSETS AND OPERATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]CHAPTER II. COMMUNICATIONS AND LAlSSEZ-PASSER[6] [7]CHAPTER III. MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY[8] [9] [10]CHAPTER IV. REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBER STATES TAKING PART IN THE WORK OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES[11]CHAPTER V. OFFICIALS AND OTHER SERVANTS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]CHAPTER VI. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF MISSIONS OF THIRD COUNTRIES ACCREDITED TO THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES[17]CHAPTER VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European CommunitiesBRUSSELS, 8 April 1965The High Contracting Parties, Considering that, in accordance with Art. 28 of the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities, these Communities and the European Investment Bank shall enjoy in the territories of the Member States such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the performance of their tasks, Have agreed upon the following provisions, which shall be annexed to this Treaty: CHAPTER I. PROPERTY, FUNDS, ASSETS AND OPERATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIESArticle 1. The premises and buildings of the Communities shall be inviolable. They shall be exempt from search, requisition, confiscation or expropriation. The property and assets of the Communities shall not be the subject of any administrative or legal measure of constraint without the authorisation of the Court of Justice. Article 2. The archives of the Communities shall be inviolable. Article 3. The Communities, their assets, revenues and other property shall be exempt from all direct taxes. The Governments of the Member States shall, wherever possible, take the appropriate measures to remit or refund the amount of indirect taxes or sales taxes included in the price of movable or immovable property, where the Communities make, for their official use, substantial purchases the price of which includes taxes of this kind. These provisions shall not be applied, however, so as to have the effect of distorting competition within the Communities. No exemption shall be granted in respect of taxes and dues which amount merely to charges for public utility services. Article 4. The Communities shall be exempt from all customs duties, prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles intended for their official use; articles so imported shall not be disposed of, whether or not in return for payment, in the territory of the country into which they have been imported, except under conditions approved by the Government of that country. The Communities shall also be exempt from any customs duties and any prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of their publications. Article 5. The European Coal and Steel Community may hold currency of any kind and operate accounts in any currency. CHAPTER II. COMMUNICATIONS AND LAlSSEZ-PASSERArticle 6. For their official communications and the transmission of all their documents, the institutions of the Communities shall enjoy in the territory of each Member State the treatment accorded by that State to diplomatic missions. Official correspondence and other official communications of the institutions of the Communities shall not be subject to censorship.
CHAPTER III. MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLYArticle 8. No administrative or other restriction shall be imposed on the free movement of members of the European Parliament travelling to or from the place of meeting of the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament shall, in respect of customs and exchange control, be accorded:
Article 9. Members of the European Parliament shall not be subject to any form of inquiry, detention or legal proceedings in respect of opinions expressed or votes cast by them in the performance of their duties. Article 10. During the sessions of the European Parliament, its members shall enjoy:
Immunity shall likewise apply to members while they are travelling to and from the place of meeting of the European Parliament. Immunity cannot be claimed when a member is found in the act of committing an offence and shall not prevent the European Parliament from exercising its right to waive the immunity of one of its members. CHAPTER IV. REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBER STATES TAKING PART IN THE WORK OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIESArticle 11. Representatives of Member States taking part in the work of the institutions of the Communities, their advisers and technical experts shall, in the performance of their duties and during their travel to and from the place of meeting, enjoy the customary privileges, immunities and facilities. This Article shall also apply to members of the advisory bodies of the Communities. CHAPTER V. OFFICIALS AND OTHER SERVANTS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIESArticle 12. In the territory of each Member State and whatever their nationality, officials and other servants of the Communities shall:
Article 13. Officials and other servants of the Communities shall be liable to a tax for the benefit of the Communities on salaries, wages and emoluments paid to them by the Communities, in accordance with the conditions and procedure laid down by the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission. They shall be exempt from national taxes on salaries, wages and emoluments paid by the Communities. Article 14. In the application of income tax, wealth tax and death duties and in the application of conventions on the avoidance of double taxation concluded between Member States of the Communities, officials and other servants of the Communities who, solely by reason of the performance of their duties in the services of the Communities, establish their residence in the territory of a Member State other than their country of domicile for tax purposes at the time of entering the service of the Communities, shall be considered, both in the country of their actual residence and in the country of domicile for tax purposes, as having maintained their domicile in the latter country provided that it is a member of the Communities. This provision shall also apply to a spouse to the extent that the latter is not separately engaged in a gainful occupation, and to children dependent on and in the care of the persons referred to in this Article. Movable property belonging to persons referred to in the first paragraph and situated in the territory of the country where they are staying shall be exempt from death duties in that country; such property shall, for the assessment of such duty, be considered as being in the country of domicile for tax purposes, subject to the rights of third countries and to the possible application of provisions of international conventions on double taxation. Any domicile acquired solely by reason of the performance of duties in the service of other international organisations shall not be taken into consideration in applying the provisions of this Article. Article 15. The Council shall, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, lay down the scheme of social security benefits for officials and other servants of the Communities. Article 16. The Council shall, acting on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the other institutions concerned, determine the categories of officials and other servants of the Communities to whom the provisions of Art. 12, the second paragraph of Art. 13, and Art. 14 shall apply, in whole or in part. The names, grades and addresses of officials and other servants included in such categories shall be communicated periodically to the Governments of the Member States. CHAPTER VI. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF MISSIONS OF THIRD COUNTRIES ACCREDITED TO THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIESArticle 17. The Member State in whose territory the Communities have their seat shall accord the customary diplomatic immunities and privileges to missions of third countries accredited to the Communities. CHAPTER VII. GENERAL PROVISIONSArticle 18. Privileges, immunities and facilities shall be accorded to officials and other servants of the Communities solely in the interests of the Communities. Each institution of the Communities shall be required to waive the immunity accorded to an official or other servant wherever that institution considers that the waiver of such immunity is not contrary to the interests of the Communities. Article 19. The institutions of the Communities shall, for the purpose of applying this Protocol, co-operate with the responsible authorities of the Member States concerned. Article 20. Arts. 12 to 15 and Art. 18 shall apply to members of the Commission. Article 21. Arts. 12 to 15 and Art. 18 shall apply to the Judges, the Advocates-General, the Registrar and the Assistant Rapporteurs of the Court of Justice, without prejudice to the provisions of Art. 3 of the Protocols on the Statute of the Court of Justice concerning immunity from legal proceedings of Judges and Advocates-General. Article 22. This Protocol shall also apply to the European Investment Bank, to the members of its organs, to its staff and to the representatives of the Member States taking part in its activities, without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol on the Statute of the Bank. The European Investment Bank shall in addition be exempt from any form of taxation or imposition of a like nature on the occasion of any increase in its capital and from the various formalities which may be connected therewith in the State where the Bank has its seat. Similarly, its dissolution or liquidation shall not give rise to any imposition. Finally, the activities of the Bank and of its organs carried on in accordance with its Statute shall not be subject to any turnover tax. In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed this Protocol. Done at Brussels this 8 April 1965.
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