In brief

• The EU's IT agency sued IBM, Atos and Leonardo over delays in building the Entry/Exit System.
• The lawsuit was filed in Estonia in December 2025 and became public through the agency's annual accounts.
• The contract value rose from 142 million to 212 million euros, and the system faced serious launch problems at airports.

Lawsuit filed in Estonia

The EU's IT agency, eu-LISA, sued IBM, France's Atos and Italy's Leonardo on 22 December 2025 at a court in Estonia, where the agency is based (ЄС судиться із трьома компаніями через проблеми із системою в'їзду EES – Європейська правда) (EU sues IBM and two European firms over troubled entry/exit border system – The Guardian). The three companies formed a consortium responsible for building and maintaining the Entry/Exit System, known as EES. The case came to light through the agency's latest annual accounts, which point to repeated delays by the contractors and state that the agency applied its existing contractual and legal means to safeguard its financial interests.

Delays in development

The European Commission has said the claims concern delays during development and do not relate to how the system is run today (Евросоюз подал в суд на IBM из-за проблем с системой пограничного контроля. Ее запуск вызвал нарушения в работе аэропортов 15 стран – Meduza). The system was originally scheduled to start in 2022 but only went live in 2026. Eu-LISA reported difficulties working with the contractors as early as 2022.

Costs and contract history

The contract value rose from 142 million euros to 212 million euros by the end of 2021, according to eu-LISA's figures. The original contract expired in 2025, but the consortium kept servicing the system until August of this year.

Launch problems

Airports in 15 countries reported serious delays, according to the Financial Times, with passengers waiting hours at border control and some missing flights (EU sues IBM and partners over troubled border system – Financial Times). Some airports have also complained about terminal faults and regular outages, with waits of up to three hours at peak times.

What the system does

EES requires non-EU and non-Schengen travellers to be photographed and fingerprinted on arrival. The aim is to identify people who overstay their permitted stay or are wanted by authorities.

Companies' response

Europe's courts have not yet ruled on the case. The agency told the Financial Times it would not comment on the litigation. Bankier.pl reported that Brussels is seeking millions of euros from IBM over the failed rollout (Pot na palcach paraliżował granice UE. Bruksela domaga się milionów od IBM – Bankier.pl).