In accordance with the regulations of the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Council of the European Union took over the project on the basis of a decision of the Executive Committee (SCH/Com-ex (99) 6 of 28 April 1999).

The project is primarily intended to examine if the TETRA standard complies with all tactical-operational requirements defined in the Schengen catalogues of the period from 1992 to 1996 and to harmonise organisational aspects of cross-border radio communication traffic, taking common and national security requirements into account.

So as to achieve the objectives defined in the mandate in an effective and efficient manner, the Ministers of the Interior of the executing states established a common project organisation, based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed 20 January 2003.

It comprises:

• Steering Committee composed of representatives from the Ministries of the Interior of the participating member states Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany;
• Co-ordination Group composed of the project leaders in the different countries;
• Working Group on Frequencies with at least one representative of the competent national authorities of each participating country;
• Working Group on Coupling with one representative each of the organisations responsible for setting up and operating the networks in the individual countries and with relevant suppliers in an advisory capacity; and,
• Working Group on Business Processes composed of representatives of participating user organisations.

Alongside the overall co-ordination of the project, the Steering Committee is responsible for informing the Council of the European Union on the conclusions to be drawn from the operational options provided by the new technology with regard to operational, financial and, where appropriate, legal regulations as well as for submitting relevant proposals for cross-border cooperation in Europe. Supported by the respective national project organisations, the working groups contribute to the Steering Committee's work in the technical and operational areas.

The participating states create the prerequisites for cross-border communication tests by setting up and putting into operation relevant digital voice and data communication systems in the common border area.

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