EU sues IBM and two firms over Entry/Exit System glitches

Due to delays in the development of the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Union's border management technology, the EU's IT agency, EU-Lisa, has filed a lawsuit against the consortium members IBM, Atos, and Leonardo, who were responsible for the project.

According to information revealed in EU-Lisa's annual accounts, the application filed with a court in Estonia on December 22, 2025, concerns delivery delays during the system's development phase. The agency stated that it has resorted to contractual and legal avenues to protect its financial interests.

The EES, which was launched in October 2025, mandates that travelers entering the Schengen area have their facial photos taken and fingerprints scanned. Since its implementation, the system has faced issues such as kiosk malfunctions and technical outages; this has led to waiting times of up to three hours during peak periods and caused some passengers to miss their flights.

EU-Lisa and the European Commission stated that the lawsuit is unrelated to the current operational status of the system and that the EES is currently operating at full capacity. While no official comment was made regarding the details of the case, it was emphasized that the process only covers disruptions during the development phase.