Business · Companies · 7 hrs ago
EU sues IBM and partners over delays to border system
EU-Lisa has sued IBM, Atos and Leonardo over delays in delivering the EU’s Entry/Exit System.
The claim was submitted to a court in Estonia on 22 December 2025, according to the agency’s annual accounts.
The system, launched in October 2025, records the faces and fingerprints of many travellers entering the Schengen area from outside it.
Its rollout has caused long waits and missed flights, with airports reporting faulty kiosks and outages, alongside a lack of border staff.
The European Commission says the case concerns delays during development, not the system’s current operation, and EU-Lisa says the system is operational across Europe.
The lawsuit seeks to protect the agency’s financial interests through contractual and legal remedies; the sources give no further details on the court process.
The EU’s IT agency EU-Lisa sued IBM, Atos and Leonardo over delays in delivering the bloc’s Entry/Exit System.
EU-Lisa said it submitted a claim to a court in Estonia on 22 December 2025.
The system launched in October 2025 and has faced kiosk malfunctions, outages and long queues.
At peak times, delays linked to the technology and a lack of border staff have caused some passengers to miss flights.
The European Commission said the case concerns delays during development, not the system’s operation.
- Who
- EU-Lisa sued IBM, Atos and Leonardo, which formed the consortium responsible for implementing and maintaining the system.
- What
- The agency filed a legal claim over delays in delivering the Entry/Exit System.
- When
- The claim was submitted on 22 December 2025. The lawsuit was reported on 9 November 2026.
- Where
- EU-Lisa filed the claim in a court in Estonia, where the agency is headquartered.
- Why
- EU-Lisa said delays in delivery led it to use contractual and legal remedies to protect its financial interest.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Entry/Exit System was launched.
EU-Lisa submitted a claim against IBM, Atos and Leonardo to a court in Estonia.
The Guardian reported the lawsuit, citing EU-Lisa’s annual accounts.
- Defendants
- IBM, Atos and Leonardo
- Responsible agency
- EU-Lisa
- Claim submitted
- 22 December 2025
- Court location
- Estonia
- System launch
- October 2025
2 sources
What people are saying
following the 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
no impact on the functioning of the Entry/Exit System (EES), which is fully operational across Europe
delays in the delivery of the EES at the time of system development
not related to the operation of the EES