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The European Union agency that manages large-scale justice and security information systems, EU-LISA, has taken legal action against the consortium responsible for installing and maintaining the bloc’s new Entry/Exit System (EES).
The consortium consists of United States-based technology company IBM, French IT company Atos and Italian defense and security company Leonardo.
The EES is a digital system that records the entry and exit of non-EU travelers at the external borders of the Schengen Area, the EU’s free movement zone. The system went live in October 2025.
According to The Guardian, EU-Lisa’s decision to sue the companies became public through the agency’s latest annual financial accounts.
The report stated: “Following various delays in the delivery of the EES by a contractor consortium, the agency has activated existing contractual and legal avenues to protect its financial interests.”
EU-Lisa said the case was filed on Dec. 22, 2025, at a court in Estonia, a Baltic country in northern Europe, where the agency has its headquarters.
The agency declined to comment on details of the proceedings. It said the proceedings “cover the development phase of the system and have no impact on current operations” and that the EES “continues to operate at full capacity.”
Since the rollout, airport operators have complained about non-functioning EES kiosks and regular system outages. At peak times, technical failures in the new technology and a shortage of border control staff caused queues of more than three hours, and many passengers missed their flights.
The system increases checks on travelers arriving in the EU from outside the Schengen area. Non-EU travelers entering any of the 29 Schengen countries must have biometric photos taken and fingerprints scanned.
The Schengen countries include 25 of the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Biometric scanning and control procedures apply to all travelers who are not citizens of the 29 Schengen countries, Ireland, or the Greek Cypriot administration.
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