Over the last years, the Community Civil Protection Mechanism has developed in several ways. The missions showed clearly that there is still a deficiency in assessment after a disaster and in setting up a functional EU On Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC). To cover this gap and create a system of tools, the EU decided to create Assessment Mission Kits for the assessment, MIC in a Box for the representative of the European Commission in EU civil protection interventions, and now a tool to enable the coordinating body on site to work properly and efficiently, by defining requirements for Technical Assistance Support Teams (TASTs).

In response to the last call for proposals under preparatory action, the German Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V. offered in a multinational approach together with Cyprus Civil Defence the development of EUTAC (European Technical Assistance Cooperation), a sustainable TAST according to the specifications in Council decision C(2007) 6464.

This TAST provides or arranges office support, telecommunication support, subsistence support and transport support on site. It may accommodate a community assessment and/or coordination team of up to 10 members, an OSOCC, a Sub-OSOCC, a Reception/Departure Center (RDC), or contribute to the self-sufficiency of other civil protection modules. The TAST is self-sufficient and can be deployed within 12 hours. It is composed of different components, suitable for different types of missions.