eu-LISA, the EU agency that runs the Entry/Exit System, filed a claim in an Estonian court last December against the consortium hired to build the biometric border system, after delays in its delivery. The case is disclosed in the agency’s final accounts for 2025.
“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,” the accounts state. The claim was submitted to the Estonian court on December 22, 2025. “Given the early stages of the proceedings, no evaluation of the probability of the outcome can be reliably made at the moment,” the agency added. The accounts do not say how much it is seeking.
The accounts do not name the companies involved. eu-LISA’s published contract records list IBM Belgium as the leader of the consortium holding the EES core system contract, with Eviden, part of Atos, and Leonardo as its other members. IBM, Atos and Leonardo are the defendants, according to the Guardian.
eu-LISA, which is based in Tallinn, declined to discuss the details of the case but told the newspaper that 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, which it said concerns “delays in the delivery of the EES at the time of system development.” Atos declined to comment.
The Entry/Exit System photographs and fingerprints travelers who are not citizens of a Schengen country, Ireland or Cyprus when they cross the Schengen area’s external borders. It began a progressive start in October 2025 and reached full operation on April 10.
EES accounted for 74 percent of the €77.8 million in software the agency added to its books in 2025, and an amending budget raised its EES payment appropriations by €41 million because the system’s entry into operation triggered key milestone deliverables. At the end of 2025, EES made up 55 percent of the €36.1 million in intangible assets still under development, as work shifted to connecting it with ETIAS, the EU’s travel authorization system, and with the bloc’s interoperability framework.
Sources: eu-LISA (accounts), eu-LISA (contracts), The Guardian
–
By the ID Tech Editorial Team
