EU Agency Is Suing IBM, Atos and Leonardo Over Years of Delays on Its Biometric Border System

The European Union’s agency for large-scale IT systems is suing IBM, the French IT group Atos and the Italian defense contractor Leonardo over years of delays in building the Entry/Exit System, the biometric border checks that have been blamed for long lines at European airports. The case, first reported by the Financial Times and confirmed in the agency’s annual accounts, was filed on Dec. 22, 2025, in Estonia, where the agency, eu-LISA, is based, the Guardian reported on Monday, Nov. 9.

The three companies formed the consortium hired to build and maintain the system’s central platform. According to the agency’s accounts, “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.”

What the lawsuit is about

A spokesperson for Harju County Court, Estonia’s largest district court, confirmed to the FT that the civil case had been filed there, and no hearings have been held or scheduled, TheNextWeb reported. eu-LISA declined to discuss details but said the proceedings concern “the system’s development phase and have no impact on its current operation,” adding that “EES is fully operational.” The European Commission said it is not a party to the case.

Correspondence seen by the FT shows the agency and the contractors had argued over missed deadlines and penalties for years. In October 2021, Atos Belgium and IBM Belgium challenged a fine, citing factors including the Covid-19 pandemic, and in February 2022 all three companies objected to revised deadlines and criticized the agency’s management. In 2022, eu-LISA’s executive director said the consortium had “missed all milestones,” Biometric Update reported. Atos declined to comment to the Guardian; IBM and Leonardo had not responded.

Analysis: what the contract cost

eu-LISA awarded the consortium a €142 million contract in 2019, and its value rose to €212 million in 2021, the FT reported. By The Boston Report’s calculation, that is a €70 million, or 49%, increase. A new consortium led by Greece-based Sword Services, with Netcompany and Sopra Steria, won a four-year, €93 million framework contract in June 2026 to develop and maintain the central system, Biometric Update reported. The lawsuit does not involve the separate biometric matching system built by Idemia and Sopra Steria.

Why travelers noticed

The Entry/Exit System photographs the faces and scans the fingerprints of non-EU travelers entering the Schengen area, which covers 29 countries, to track overstays. It was originally due in 2022, launched in October 2025 and became fully operational only in April 2026. Airports have complained of malfunctioning kiosks and outages that produced waits of three hours at peak times, and some passengers missed flights, the Guardian reported. In June 2026, the EU border agency Frontex warned that long lines could last two more years, according to Biometric Update.

That matters for Americans heading to Europe, who must now register their fingerprints and photos on their first entry. A related requirement, the ETIAS travel authorization for visa-exempt visitors, is now expected in 2027, though the EU has not set a date.

What comes next

Separately, a 2024 Bloomberg investigation attributed much of the delay to Atos, and the FT later reported the company used its Moscow office to buy software for the system; eu-LISA said it found no security breach. The court timetable is unclear. For IBM, the case lands as the company promotes new projects such as its first quantum computer in Illinois. Follow more European technology and policy stories in our world news coverage.

Sources

• The Guardian: EU sues IBM and two European firms over troubled entry/exit border system
• TheNextWeb: EU sues IBM, Atos and Leonardo over border system delays, FT reports
• Biometric Update: EU takes EES contractors to court as new consortium takes over border system