On 9 September 2026, ERTICO celebrated its 35th anniversary at Brussels City Hall, bringing together Partners, policymakers, industry leaders, colleagues and friends from across the mobility community to mark more than three decades of collaboration, innovation and impact.
Since its establishment in 1991, ERTICO has evolved alongside the development of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe and beyond. What began with a vision from 15 organisations for greater cooperation between the public and private sectors has grown into a Partnership connecting more than 120 Partners, bringing together expertise and ideas across the mobility ecosystem.
The anniversary celebration was a perfect moment to reflect on this journey, from the early development of ITS and the creation of the ITS World Congress to the projects, platforms and partnerships that have shaped a more connected, intelligent and sustainable mobility landscape of today. It was also a celebration of the people behind this progress, whose knowledge, commitment and collaboration have shaped ERTICO over the years and many more to come.
Hosted by CEO Joost Vantomme as the Master of Ceremonies, the day brought together voices from different moments in ERTICO’s history, from those who helped establish its early vision to those contributing to its future. Former Chairs and CEOs, long-standing colleagues and Partners shared memories and reflections, while video messages from founding members and associates unable to attend in person added further perspectives on ERTICO’s journey.
ERTICO Chairman Dr Angelos Amditis followed, reflecting on ERTICO’s 35-year contribution to Europe’s Intelligent Transport journey, while looking ahead to the technologies, opportunities and challenges that will shape the years to come. His reflections set the stage for the afternoon’s discussions.
The event also looked firmly ahead. Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas opened with a keynote reflecting on ERTICO’s important role at the forefront of Europe’s transport transformation over the past 35 years and its continued commitment to turning innovation into deployment. He emphasised the need to accelerate Intelligent Transport Systems to improve people’s lives, strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and deliver safer, smarter and more resilient mobility. Looking to the next transformation, including autonomous vehicles, he stressed that Europe must act quickly and the Commission will continue the close collaboration with ERTICO to shape the next generation of mobility and transport in Europe.
The celebration followed in three chapters: the origins, the present and the future mission. Together, they reflected both how far ERTICO has come and the continued importance of bringing people, technology and policy together to shape the future of mobility.
The Foundations: From Vision to a Shared European Mission
Former ERTICO Chair of the Supervisory Board, Professor Eric Sampson, guided the audience through ERTICO’s early vision, reflecting on the development of the Partnership, the establishment of its office and the people who helped turn an idea into an organisation.
Joined by Luc Werring, the first Head of Unit at the European Commission’s DG MOVE in 1991, they held a fireside conversation about the early vision for Intelligent Transport Systems and the European cooperation that helped shape ERTICO’s beginnings.
Reflecting on the lessons of those early years, Luc highlighted the importance of having strong foundations while remaining open to change and unexpected developments. He also emphasised the value of looking beyond organisational and sectoral boundaries, pointing to ITS as an example of what can be achieved through openness and collective thinking. The evolution of ERTICO’s public-private partnership, he noted, demonstrates how closely different sectors can work together towards shared goals.
The conversation steered by Eric continued with a panel bringing together current and former ERTICO leaders, including current Chairman Dr Amditis and CEO Vantomme, with former CEO Jacob Bangsgaard and former Chairman Cees de Wijs.
Looking back at flagship projects, early innovations and the challenges encountered along the way, they explored how ERTICO’s priorities and international reach have evolved over the decades, while maintaining the importance of collaboration at its core.
For Dr Amditis, one of the key challenges for the years ahead is closing the gap between innovation and implementation. He emphasised the need to continue developing new ideas while also building on solutions that have already been tested and proven, rather than continually starting from zero.
For Joost, this focus on impact is equally important. Looking beyond research and experimentation, he highlighted the need to turn innovation into practical solutions that make mobility more convenient and connected for users. Interoperability and breaking down silos between different parts of the mobility ecosystem will be essential to achieving this. He also connected this ambition to ERTICO’s Vision 2035, emphasising that safety and resilience must remain as important as technology itself.
Together, these reflections connected ERTICO’s beginnings with the challenges facing mobility today. The technologies and priorities may have evolved significantly since 1991, but the principle at the heart of the Partnership remains the same: bringing different perspectives together, building on shared knowledge and working collectively to turn innovation into impact.
Read more about ERTICO’s 35-year journey
ERTICO Over The Years Through The Eyes Of Its Longstanding Staff
ERTICO’s story would not be complete without the people behind it. To mark these 35 years, a panel of longstanding colleagues offered a personal perspective on the organisation’s history, including.
Didier Gorteman (Chief Financial and Operations Officer) invited Robert Fraenkel (IT Manager), Jean-Charles Pandazis (Senior Project Manager), Shainoor Noorali (Head of Finance & HR), Delphine Soubies (Senior Congress & Programme Coordinator) and Julie Castermans (Project Manager) to share ERTICO evolution through their eyes.
For Robert, who was already involved before ERTICO was established, the journey brought a sense of perspective on just how far the organisation has come. Among his earliest memories were witnessing the signing of the founding agreement. Robert recalled fantastic memories working alongside Fotis Karamitsos, Head of Unit at DG XIII and responsible for the Telematics Programme for Transport,which led to the EU DRIVE programme and later to the creation of ERTICO. He also mentions Olivier Mossé, ERTICO’s second CEO, with whom he shared fantastic memories, professionally and personally. Looking back, he highlighted the team spirit and sense of community that have remained a defining part of his experience at ERTICO, particularly through periods of change and challenge.
For Delphine, many of those memories are connected to ERTICO’s ITS Congresses. Having attended more than half of the ITS World Congresses and all European editions, she reflected on the teamwork involved from planning through to delivery, as well as the opportunities these events created to collaborate, learn and discover new places and cultures. Her memories also illustrated that not every event was without its challenges and significant demands on the team. However, the shared vision and team spirit they maintained ensured smooth delivery and contributed to the success of the Congresses. Among the people who influenced her most, Delphine recalled her first boss, Olivier Mossé, whose vision and work helped ERTICO to grow and impact the deployment of ITS.
Read more about over three decades of ITS Congresses
The evolution of ERTICO’s projects and technologies was certainly another recurring theme.
Jean-Charles Pandazis recalled joining ERTICO in 1996 with the challenge of developing a shared vision for ITS 20 years ahead. Working with Partners from across the sector, the team developed and presented this vision at the ITS World Congress in Berlin in 1997. He also reflected on ERTICO’s role in enabling impact through collaboration. One example is the development of a de facto industry standard (ADASIS) defining a common approach to road and map data with automotive industry Partners, helping create the foundations for predictive applications that have since contributed to more efficient vehicle operation and reduced energy consumption up to 8%. Back at ERTICO in 2009, his second challenge was the development of the ecoMobility sector, including electroMobility.
For Julie, the memories of ERTICO’s early projects highlighted just how much roles and ways of working have changed. Her experience on the integrated project CVIS, involving seven sub-projects and 63 Partners, allowed her to work across project administration, consortium management, finance, events, communications and dissemination. She emphasised the importance of the trust and support she received from her first mentor, Paul Kompfner, which helped her develop her approach to project management.
Shainoor reflected on how ideas that once seemed new or challenging gradually became part of everyday mobility. From early technical demonstrations to autonomous shuttle trials at the 2015 ITS World Congress, she recalled moments when emerging technologies moved from discussion and experimentation towards practical reality.
She also highlighted the diversity of the ERTICO team as one of its strengths. With colleagues representing many different nationalities and backgrounds, working towards a common goal created opportunities to learn from different perspectives. What could have been a challenge became an important part of ERTICO’s team spirit and identity.
Among the people who influenced her most, Shainoor recalled Monica Sundstrom , the first woman to become Chair of ERTICO’s Supervisory Board, whose leadership provided an important example in a highly technical environment.
Didier brought another perspective, reflecting on 30 years within ERTICO and the many people he has met through the organisation’s activities. From automotive leaders and CEOs to Commissioners, ministers, mayors and representatives from across the mobility sector, he recalled the extraordinary range of people who have crossed paths with ERTICO over the years.
For Didier, however, the most rewarding part has been the people themselves. Around 250 people have passed through ERTICO during his time, many of whom remain active in the mobility sector or European institutions. The relationships and shared memories built over the years remain an important part of ERTICO’s story.
The panel offered a reminder that ERTICO’s history cannot only be captured through projects, technologies and milestones alone. As Didier emphasised, behind every breakthrough are the people who collaborated, adapted to change, learned from one another, and turned vision into reality.
While technologies evolve and ERTICO continues to adapt, the people behind the work remain the true heart of its success.
Real-World Impact Through Lasting Partnerships
Partners have always been at the heart of ERTICO’s work, bringing together expertise, experience and perspectives from across the mobility ecosystem. Agne Vaitekenaite, Head of Partnership & Advocacy at ERTICO, invited Ronald Adams (Project Manager of Smart Mobility, Rijkswaterstaat), Jocelyn Delatre (Head of Digital Policy, ACEA), Malika Seddi (Secretary General, ASECAP), Karen Vancluysen (Secretary General, POLIS Network) and Steve Schneider (Chair, ITS Nationals Network) to reflect on how collaboration has evolved and how strong partnerships can turn shared ambitions into real-world impact.
The discussion highlighted a common reality: the challenges facing mobility today are too complex for any one organisation or sector to address alone. For Jocelyn, this makes partnerships such as ERTICO’s even more relevant today than they were 35 years ago. As mobility systems become increasingly interconnected, cooperation and mutual trust are essential to developing solutions at the scale Europe needs. He also highlighted how seemingly simple ideas can require extensive cooperation when implemented at European scale. Sharing data generated by vehicles, for example, can help communicate road hazards to users and authorities, but making such a system work across different stakeholders requires an ecosystem built on common approaches, governance and trust.
Steve similarly emphasised the role of collaboration in overcoming fragmentation and creating more seamless and integrated mobility. A shared vision across stakeholders, he noted, can help connect different parts of the mobility system and move solutions beyond individual sectors.
For Ronald, cooperation becomes particularly important when moving from innovation and pilot projects towards large-scale deployment. From a public sector perspective, achieving safer, cleaner, smarter and more resilient mobility requires closer collaboration between public authorities and industry. He highlighted the deployment of Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility as one example where stronger cooperation can help ensure that new technologies work alongside the infrastructure and traffic management systems already in place.
The conversation also explored how collaboration can create tangible results. Steve pointed to C-ITS as an example of stakeholders working together across countries and sectors to harmonise approaches and support safer and more efficient mobility. While the work continues to evolve, deployments are already demonstrating how cooperation can help move solutions from projects and experimentation into real-world operations.
Karen brought a city perspective to the discussion, highlighting the need to look at mobility as an integrated, multimodal system rather than through individual modes or technologies. She pointed to the growing role of digital tools, data sharing and proactive network management in helping cities make better use of limited urban space and support more sustainable mobility choices.
Malika highlighted the importance of partnerships and cooperation across the transport ecosystem. She stressed that cross-sectoral collaboration is essential for toll road infrastructure operators and noted that the cooperation developed over the past 35 years has become increasingly important in addressing shared transport and mobility challenges. According to her, continued collaboration will be key to achieving common goals for the future of transport and mobility.
Across the different perspectives, the message was clear: technology can provide new opportunities for innovation, but collaboration is what allows those opportunities to become practical solutions.
Agne Vaitekenaite summarised this shared perspective by highlighting the role of Partners in turning innovation into tangible development, while thanking the organisations and individuals who have contributed to ERTICO throughout its history.
Read more and listen to 35 years of ITS insights
Read the story behind 35 years of the ERTICO Partnership
As ERTICO looks towards the future, this Partnership model remains central to its mission.
The Future Of Mobility: A Shared Vision For The Next 35 Years
The final chapter of the afternoon looked ahead, exploring how ERTICO and its Partners can help shape the next 35 years of mobility.
The celebration continued with messages from Anaïs Maes, Alderwoman in charge of Town Planning and Public Spaces, Mobility and Dutch-language Education at the City of Brussels, Elke Van den Brandt, Brussels Minister for Mobility, Public Works and Road Safety, and Krzysztof Kuik, Director at DG RTD, European Commission. Their contributions highlighted the importance of cooperation, interoperability and shared ambition in building a mobility system that works across borders and for everyone.
From the perspective of the City of Brussels, Anaïs Maes highlighted the importance of bringing different modes of transport, communities and stakeholders together. As a city where walking, cycling, public transport, cars, shared mobility and logistics all share the same urban space, Brussels illustrates the need for integrated approaches that connect mobility, public space and the people who use them. She also recognised the role of cooperation and innovation in helping cities respond to changing mobility needs and ERTICO’s role in bringing knowledge, technology, policy and implementation together to turn innovation into concrete results.
Krzysztof Kuik reflected on the continued relevance of ERTICO’s original mission of bringing together public authorities, industry, research and technology to turn innovation into real-world mobility solutions. Looking ahead, he highlighted the need to strengthen the link between research, demonstration and deployment, particularly as mobility becomes increasingly connected, automated and digital. He also underlined the importance of trusted public-private partnerships in addressing complex mobility challenges and turning European research and innovation into solutions that can be deployed at scale.
Reflecting on 35 years of mobility evolution, Elke highlighted interoperability, the ability to exchange data across borders and systems, as a key driver of real-time cross border services and new multi stakeholder ecosystems.
She stressed that interoperability relies on common standards rather than a single unified system, allowing diverse organisations to build distinct, compatible products. For Brussels, this cooperation directly enhances road safety and traffic management. Ultimately, she emphasised that progress depends on trusted collaboration, stakeholders willing to share data, align goals, and build solutions together.
Looking further ahead, ERTICO Chief Innovation Officer Vladimir Vorotovic introduced the ERTICO 2035 roadmap through ERTIBOT, ERTICO’s newly developed AI assistant. The AI assistant provided a forward-looking perspective on how ERTICO can continue to support innovation while responding to the major changes shaping the mobility sector. As technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation and digitalisation continue to develop, the focus remains on connecting innovation with practical implementation and ensuring that new solutions contribute to a safer, more sustainable and resilient mobility system.
The future mission also placed people and inclusion firmly at its centre. During the anniversary celebration, Lidia Buenavida Peña, Project Manager and ERTICO GEP+ referent, presented the ERTICO Gender Equality Plan+, which supports a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable working environment.
Developed collaboratively through ERTICO Team workshops, the GEP+ outlines clear objectives and actions across four key areas, supported by governance, metrics, resources, and continuous monitoring. The "+" signifies looking beyond gender to address broader diversity and inclusion. For Lidia, this approach is vital to mobility, ensuring solutions account for diverse needs from the outset, so innovation breaks down barriers rather than creating new ones.
Looking Ahead Together
The celebration closed with reflections from Thibaut Kleiner, Director at DG CONNECT, European Commission, and Joost Vantomme, ERTICO CEO, looking at what the next chapter could mean for ERTICO and the wider mobility community.
Thibaut highlighted the continued relevance of ERTICO’s founding vision and the need to bring European actors together to strengthen innovation, accelerate deployment and build European capabilities. He also underlined the importance of cooperation between mobility, energy and digital ecosystems in shaping the future of transport.
Joost echoed the need to move from innovation to deployment, highlighting ERTICO’s ambition to work more closely with Partners, public authorities and other stakeholders to turn research and projects into solutions that can be implemented at scale. The next 35 years will be a handover to the generations that follow, with people, social readiness and inclusion remaining central to how new technologies are developed and adopted.
ERTICO’s 35th anniversary an opportunity to recognise the people, organisations and ideas that have shaped the Partnership, while looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities that will define the next chapter. Across the three chapters of the celebration, one message stood out: progress has always come through collaboration, bringing together people, sectors and ideas to turn innovation into impact.
The mobility landscape will continue to evolve, but ERTICO’s commitment to connecting technology, policy and people remains at the heart of its mission. As the Partnership looks towards the next 35 years, the future will be shaped collectively by its Partners, colleagues and wider mobility community.
The anniversary celebration at Brussels City Hall was a moment to pause and recognise how far ERTICO has come. It was also a reminder that its future will be shaped collectively, by the Partners, colleagues and wider mobility community who continue to contribute to its journey.
After 35 years of collaboration, innovation and impact, the next chapter is already beginning.
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