[Netherlands] Netherlands Business Council Meeting

[Dutchy]

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Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate
Kingdom of the Netherlands​

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Recipient: Aimee Durand, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for First Choice International (@Hollie)
Einar Åkesson, Regional Practice Manager for Europe for Strömberg International Legal Consulatants (@Connor)
Cc: Izaak Assenberg, Minister of Economic Affairs & Climate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Subject: Invitation to the Netherlands Business Council Meeting
Classification: Secure

Dear Sir & Madam,

As Secretary of State for Business it is my duty to act as primary liaison between the Minister of Economic Affairs & Climate and yourselves, some of the largest corporations within the Netherlands. It is this governments wish to communicate regularly with businesses in regards to upcoming legislation and allow yourselves to voice your opinion, concerns and recommendations. Therefore, I am calling a session of the Netherlands Business Council at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate and invite you to participate.

I understand both of you may be preoccupied and unable to attend at such short notice, however I hope you are then willing to send a representative in your absence.

Yours Sincerely,

Augustijn de Vries
Secretary of State for Business

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A conference room within the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Business would be prepared for the meeting, refreshments in both drinks and snacks would be available for the representatives. Secretary of State for Business Augustijn de Vries would be awaiting the arrival of the representatives from the invited businesses.

 

[Connor]

Security Classification: SECURE
Document Classification and Security Act 1995
Encrypted by the Strömberg International Legal Consultants​

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Dearest Augustijn de Vries,

Your message has been received gratefully by my office and I will of course be honoured to attend the Netherlands Business Council Meeting. Unfortunately following our firms recent explosion in localised development and international growth, I will be unable to personally attend such a meeting however I am more than happy to not only send a representative of Strömberg International Legal Consultants but the head of the table. Chairman Mattis Olsson is very excited to head over to the Netherlands and represent the board at the Netherlands Business Council Meeting.

He will attend imminently and link this into a visit to the Netherlands District Office which as you know is the first district office opened by Strömberg International Legal Consultants abroad.

Regards,
Einar Åkesson
Regional Manager for Europe
Strömberg International Legal Consultants

 

[Hollie]

This Response is PRIVATE and ENCRYPTED — @Dutchy
Recipient: Augustijn de Vries, Secretary of State for Business

Thank you for inviting First Choice International to the Netherlands Business Council Meeting. It's an enormous privilege to been given the opportunity to address the long term challenges and issues faced by our business. I'm confirming my attendance and strongly hope this Council will give us a chance to strengthen our working business relationship, and together we can make real and tangible strides forward for the future.

Deputy Chief Executive Offer ?
__________________________________________


Considering Mrs. Durand is a Dutch Citizen living in Rotterdam, she would make her way to the Ministry via Public Transport, approximately 47 Minutes out. Arriving before Strömberg who have not yet departed, she greets Augustijn with a firm hand shake.

 

[Connor]

Chairman Mattis Olsson departs from Stockholm, Sweden on the next available flight to the Netherlands - upon arrival he will travel by public taxicab to the meeting venue and make himself known to reception staff or those present in order to be directed to the correct location. With Mattis knowing about the growing relationship with First Choice International he would be very eager to meet the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and naturally with the firm growing abroad, particularly in the Netherlands this meeting serves as a fantastic networking event.

 

[Dutchy]

Upon arrival at the Ministry and after informing the reception of her arrival Mrs. Durand's identity would be verified and she would be handed a visitors badge before being escorted up to the conference room where the Secretary of State was waiting. "Mrs. Durand, welcome and thank you for coming," de Vries said while shaking her hand. "Please take a seat while we wait for a representative from Stromberg. Can I get you anything to drink Mrs. Durand?"

@Hollie

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Chairman Mattis Olsson, upon arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol would be required to pass customs and immigration. After presenting his travel document to the Royal Marechaussee at the passport desk it would be discovered that Mr Olsson had not obtained a visa which had become essential in order to enter the Netherlands. Olsson would be escorted by a single officer from the Marechaussee to the police station within the airport from where the Marechaussee operated from within the airport. Olsson would be asked to remain seated in an office, across from him the officer would begin placing calls through the chain of command.

Half an hour later the phone began ringing and the officer swiftly answered, listened and responded with all the necessary 'yes sir' that were required. After putting the phone back in it's place he looked across the desk, "Mr Olsson, the Minister of Justice has granted you a personal exemption from the requirement of carrying a valid visa for the duration of your stay. An officer from the Royal Marechaussee shall escort you to the Hague for your meeting with Secretary of State de Vries."

Mr Olsson would be escorted from the office to a waiting Marechausse police vehicle, the junior officer tasked with driving him from Amsterdam to the Hague placed any luggage the Chairman had in the back of the vehicle before asking the Chairman if he'd prefer to sit in the front or rear passenger seats.

The journey from Amsterdam to the Hague would be uneventful, though offered Mr Olsson a view of the Netherlands as they drove down the A4 to the Hague. Upon arrival at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate they would exit the vehicle and the junior officer would carry any luggage up to the reception alongside Mr Olsson, where he would inform the receptionist of their arrival. After receiving a visitors badge, Chairman Olsson would be escorted up to the conference room by an officer from the National Police.

As Olsson entered the room, Secretary of State de Vries rose from his chair and walked towards him to greet him with a firm handshake, "Chairman Olsson, welcome to the Netherlands. I've been informed you had to hurdle a few obstacles to get here," he said with a chuckle. "I appreciate your patience and am glad you're here to participate in this meeting."

@Connor

 

[Connor]

Chairman Mattis, upon arriving at the meeting, extends his hand to the Secretary of State de Vries giving a brief nod of his head as a sign of respect to his rank in government before shaking his hand firmly. In a posh tone but thick Swedish accent he replies "Secretary, it's a honour to be here, I have to say I've never been sat in the back of a police vehicle before... first time for everything as they say!" he chuckles briefly before continuing "A few obstacles, yes, please extend my appreciation to the Minister of Justice for his courteous exemption, allowing for the essential business-focussed drive I am so looking forward to be apart of here in the Netherlands..."

Chairman Mattis is an older man with balding white hair and a Colonel Sanders style white moustache seemingly balance upon his top lip; his face is visually very wrinkled and his well-kept beard disguises and imperfections in his skin. As always Mattis is very well dressed in a tweed three-piece suit, a subtle blue tie and white shirt. In his old age a slight hunch in his stance shows slight vulnerability however he very much overpowers this with his youthful personality and overly respectful traditions.

He continues around the room to Mrs Durand and takes her hand into his own, bringing this up to his lips however respecting modern expectations and refraining from kissing the back of it. He nods his head once again, respecting the presence of a female. "Mrs Durand, again, the pleasure is all mine... I have been keen to meet you."

 

[Dutchy]

Secretary of State de Vries would take his place and politely gestured for the two business leaders to do the same. Once they were all seated de Vries opened on of the folders which had been laid out in front of him, quickly scanned its content before focusing on the two individuals in front of him. "Mr Mattis, Ms Durand, I once again wish to offer you my gratitude for your quick arrival. I wish to begin this meeting with informing you that this government will not be implementing any form of corporate tax or value added tax system for the year 1996. It is our belief that if we were to rush to implement a tax system at this time it would have a negative effect on both your businesses and my nations. Therefore we have decided that we will use the year 1996 to research and work on a system that is fair and equal to all parties in preparation for a 1997 implementation. I hope this offers you some comfort in knowing your financial situation next year."

"It is my governments wish to seek increased investment into the Dutch economy both public and private interests, therefore I wish to ask you if there is any way the Netherlands can support you in possible investment opportunities?"

@Hollie @Connor

 

[Hollie]

Mrs. Durand is a Successful woman, defying expectations and overcoming gender inequalities in a Business that is otherwise inhospitable for women. Especially for an industry that has been traditional dominated by men. She has an attractive, strong face with a great sense of high voltage about her. She was dressed in a Polka dot blouse, Pencil Skirt and a silk scarf neatly tied around her neck as she approached the Secretary of State de Vries, and her Attorney, Mattis. "The pleasure is all mine..." Sitting down comfortable, she would eye the Folder in front of her. "We're doing fairly well in Business, as are Strömberg judging by the number of affiliations they have... I appreciate your decision not to charge Corporate Tax, but I'd prefer to know what Percentage of Tax you will start to collect the following year? Will obtaining a straightforward answer really be that difficult this early on? First Choice have been operating for almost 12 Months, so our Executives have a pretty strong impression of Turnover" Mrs. Durand clearly caught everyone's attention, as she was uncompromisingly forthright. Perhaps from her experience in office. "I have the Profit Margins on hand, for this Fiscal year — If that helps to address my query"

@Dutchy @Connor

 

[Dutchy]

"I am extremely glad to hear that your company has established a strong foundation here in the Netherlands and we hope to continue our prosperous relationship for many years to come. The current draft proposal includes the implementation of a two tier Value Added Tax system, good will be taxed with 2% and services will be taxed by 4%, lastly the corporate tax on profits will be set at 5%. All monetary revenue gained from these taxes will be placed into an fund which will be used to invest back into businesses, in the form of subsidies, projects, etc."

@Hollie @Connor

 

[Hollie]

She cast a Skeptical eye at Chairman Mattis, upon learning their Service Tax was set to 4% before looking across to the Dutch Secretary. Her mood was calm and contemplative, as she spoke. "The Tax values are definitely something we can accommodate for the future. They're moderate without making too much of an impact on our dividends, but we're reliant on matching expected sales. So, will there be an opportunity to review them after the first year, in case we cannot meet your criteria? I'm curious, you mentioned investing into Businesses with that revenue. Does that mean you might support any future endeavors? For example, providing a Financial donation to a project. We're fairly ambitious as a company, but we don't always have the funds to facilitate them.

We didn't have the time to properly discuss the Project until now. However, keeping with our European roots, Sparrow would like to open a Shipyard to support our customer base. As per our Business model, the layout will determine not only our capacity, but the lifecycle. The Yard area must be large enough to accommodate all the processes of Shipbuilding, inclusive of Paintwork and support our largest Vessel, which is a Staggering 261 Meters. The French aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle"

@Dutchy @Connor

 

[Dutchy]

"Yes, we will constantly be reviewing our tax policies and ensuring they remain fair to all businesses in the Netherlands. I don't see this government providing donations anytime soon, when I mention investing into businesses I mean to say that we can provide financial support through means of subsidies, low interest loans or purchasing stake in a project."

"Hmm, the only locations I could imagine a shipyard of such a size fitting would be in Rotterdam, Den Helder or Vlissingen. Most of the land in those locations is in commercial hands, so if you wish to purchase the land for your shipyard I would suggest looking at a suitable location which meets your criteria and purchasing it directly from the landowner."

@Hollie