The European agency eu-LISA has filed a lawsuit against IBM, Atos, and Leonardo regarding the repeated delays that occurred during the development of the European Entry/Exit System (EES).
The case, revealed by the Financial Times and picked up by Reuters, does not concern, according to the agency, the current operation of the system.
The action was brought by eu-LISA, the European agency responsible for running large IT systems in the fields of justice and home affairs. It targets the consortium formed by IBM Belgium, Atos Belgium and Leonardo, responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the central EES system.
The contract was awarded in 2019 for an initial six-year term, with a ceiling of just over €142 million. According to information cited by several media outlets, the delays have pushed the project cost up by about €70 million.
The action is said to have been filed in December 2025 before the Harju County Court, in Estonia, where eu-LISA is based. The court is reported to have acknowledged receipt of the file, but no hearing had been scheduled at the time of publication.
The System Is Operational
The EES (Entry/Exit System) is an automated system designed to record the entries and exits of third-country nationals undertaking short stays at the external borders of the Schengen Area. It replaces the traditional passport stamp with a digital entry.
After several postponements, its phased rollout began in October 2025. The system was subsequently deployed in full at Schengen’s external border crossing points on 10 April 2026.
eu-LISA states that the central system is now fully operational, stable, and reliable, with ongoing support available. The agency also notes that the legal proceedings have “no impact on the functioning of the EES.”
IBM Belgium is the consortium’s lead. Its role encompasses the overall architecture of the system and project management, making it the central liaison for eu-LISA to coordinate work and monitor milestones.
Atos Belgium was responsible for a major portion of the technical execution: the development and integration of the EES’s hardware and software components. Information reported by Bloomberg and Lighthouse Records estimates this share at about two-thirds of the consortium’s work.
Leonardo, for its part, contributed on security-related aspects: application security, data protection, security governance, and defense against cyber threats.
What Has Been Alleged Against Atos and IBM
Publicly available materials do not provide a definitive list of legal charges directed specifically at Atos. The action targets the consortium as a whole for delivery delays experienced during the EES development.
Journalistic investigations point to difficulties attributed to Atos’s technical share: partially installed equipment, misplaced components, unresolved bugs, and teams deemed insufficiently experienced. These are allegations and media reports, not judicial conclusions.
It has therefore not been publicly established that Atos alone is responsible for the malfunctions reported, including those related to fingerprint readers. The precise allocation of responsibilities will depend on the contract, any amendments, and the tribunal’s assessment.
Atos and IBM had not, at the time Reuters published, responded to requests for comment. Their defense, known so far, rests primarily on exchanges with eu-LISA disclosed by the Financial Times.
In October 2021, Atos Belgium and IBM Belgium challenged a fine imposed by the agency, both on principle and on the method of calculation. They cited disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In February 2022, the three consortium members rejected the new delays proposed by eu-LISA, deeming them unrealistic and criticizing the agency’s governance. IBM reportedly agreed to a withholding of payments, though that did not constitute a broad admission of responsibility.
Stakes of the Litigation
At the core of the dispute is financial risk. If eu-LISA succeeds, IBM, Atos, and Leonardo could be liable for damages or penalties tied to the delays. The exact amount claimed has not been disclosed in the available materials.
The dispute could also affect the contractual relationship between the agency and its suppliers, particularly regarding future upgrades and the maintenance of the EES. However, at this stage it does not imply a service disruption or an announced change to the rules governing travelers.
For third-country nationals, the EES continues to electronically record entries and exits to monitor short stays, limited to 90 days within a 180-day period. ETIAS, the visa-exemption travel authorization, remains a separate framework and is slated for the fourth quarter of 2026.
