CITA RAG E Conference Brings the PTI Community in Vilnius
Vilnius, Lithuania | 20–21 October 2026
The CITA RAG Europe Conference 2026 brought CITA Members together in Vilnius, Lithuania, for two days dedicated to technical exchanges, regulatory developments and collaboration on the future of vehicle inspection.
Hosted by carVertical and the Lithuanian Association of Companies for Vehicle Technical Inspection (TRANSEKSTA), the conference provided a platform for exchanging knowledge, discussing emerging challenges and exploring the latest activities across CITA’s five Topic Areas and their respective Task Forces.
The conference opened with a welcome address by Christoph Nolte, CITA RAG Europe Deputy Chairperson, followed by a keynote from Rimantas Didžiokas, TRANSEKSTA President, and an update from Eduard Fernández, CITA Executive Director.
The first day focused on three major areas of work.
Topic Area C – External Affairs, led by Richard Goebelt and Oliver Deiters, addressed the revision of the EU Roadworthiness Package, market transparency and access to vehicle data for roadworthiness testing. Contributions from Michael Wenzel, Fred Blüthner, Sarah Kinzler and Matas Buzelis highlighted the importance of these issues for the inspection sector.
Topic Area D – Environmental Protection Systems, chaired by Thomas Ost, with Pascal Buekenhoudt as Deputy Chairperson, explored developments in vehicle emissions testing. Presentations from Mario Schriefl, Peter Schwanzer, Max Holtermüller, Patrick Thuro and Arne Kuntze covered remote sensing, NOx measurement methodologies and the added value of particle number (PN) measurement in PTI.
The afternoon continued with Topic Area B – Optimising Current Vehicle Compliance, led by Pascal Buekenhoudt and Marian Rybiansky. Speakers including Tom Polman, Lotte Dijkink, Luis Maria Perez-Serrano and Patrick Thuro addressed recall campaigns, shock absorber testing, cross-border vehicle inspection and motorcycle deceleration testing. The session also included updates from the Task Forces on Brakes, Lighting Devices and Reflectors, and Type Approval, with contributions from Martin Kraus, Peter Ondrejka and CITA Technical Director Alejandro Checa.
The second day opened with Topic Area E – Quality, Training & Confidence, chaired by Andreas Klocke. Rūta Tamošiūnaitė, Jaroslavas Polujanskis and Juraj Hudec contributed to discussions on vehicle defect analysis in Lithuania, supervision of PTI stations through mystery shopping in Slovakia, and the activities of the Accreditation and Quality Task Forces.
The conference then turned to Topic Area A – R&D Vehicle Compliance, led by Víctor Salvachúa. Contributions from Servi Beckers, Samer Galal, Fred Blüthner and Peter Ter Berg addressed European vehicle data exchange, ADAS inspection, artificial intelligence and developments related to electric vehicles.
Following the closing session led by Christoph Nolte, the program concluded with a technical visit to a TRANSEKSTA inspection facility in Vilnius, providing participants with an opportunity to observe vehicle technical inspection demonstration.
The conference programme reflected the broad range of challenges facing the vehicle inspection community, from regulatory changes and environmental performance to digitalisation, emerging vehicle technologies and inspection quality.
CITA extends its sincere gratitude to carVertical and TRANSEKSTA, the two hosts of this year’s RAG Europe Conference, for their valuable support and hospitality in Vilnius.
Special thanks also go to all speakers, Topic Area and Task Force representatives, and participating CITA Members for their contributions to the conference and their continued commitment to improving vehicle safety, environmental protection and the effectiveness of vehicle inspection across Europe.