European Union Sues IBM, Atos and Leonardo Over EES Border Delays
EU-Lisa, the bloc's IT agency, filed a claim on December 22, 2025, in an Estonian court against IBM, Atos and Leonardo over delays building the Entry/Exit System. The agency says the case concerns development only and that the border system is fully operational.
The European Union has sued IBM and two other companies over delays in building its new border-control system, according to the EU IT agency's latest annual accounts. EU-Lisa filed the claim on December 22, 2025, in a court in Estonia, where it has its headquarters.
The defendants are IBM, the French IT company Atos and Italian defence contractor Leonardo. Together they formed the consortium that built the Entry/Exit System (EES), which launched in October 2025.
The accounts say that after "various delays in the delivery of the EES by a contracting consortium" the agency "activated the available contractual and legal remedies to protect its financial interest".
EU-Lisa declined to comment on the details. It said the proceedings concern "the system's development phase and have no impact on its current operation", adding: "EES is fully operational."
The European Commission said it is not a party to the case. It described the dispute as concerning delays during development and as "not related to the operation of the EES".
Queues and missed flights
The rollout has been rough. Some passengers at peak times missed flights because of delays blamed on the new technology and a shortage of border staff. Airports complained of faulty kiosks and regular outages, with waits of up to three hours at the busiest periods.
The system requires travelers to have their faces photographed and fingerprints scanned before entering the Schengen area. That zone covers 25 of the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The checks apply to anyone who is not a citizen of one of the 29 Schengen countries, Ireland or Cyprus.
The lawsuit relates to alleged delays and cost overruns in development, not to the recent airport disruption. EES was meant to start in 2022 but did not go live until October 2025.
Earlier fines and cost rise
The EU had already fined the consortium for missing delivery deadlines on a €142m (£118m) contract. The cost had risen to €212m by 2021. The companies disputed the fines, in some cases blaming the Covid-19 pandemic, according to reports.
The consortium's contract expired last year, and a new consortium has taken over. Atos declined to comment. IBM and Leonardo had not responded when contacted.
Countries faced a September deadline this year to deploy the system. France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece, Malta and Switzerland are reportedly still using legacy systems at least part of the time, with tacit permission from Brussels.
Supporters of EES say it is identifying thousands of unauthorized arrivals and visa over-stayers. Some early problems have been blamed on the need to coordinate the new technology with each country's existing software and hardware.
