Fingerprint failures, airport queues: Why IBM is facing EU lawsuit? Smart Border System case explained
The European Union has sued IBM, French IT company Atos and Italian defence contractor Leonardo over repeated delays in developing its new digital border system, which has faced technical glitches and caused long queues at airports across Europe. Here is what led to the dispute, The Financial Times reported.
The European Union has taken 3 major technology and defence companies to court over delays in delivering a new border security system that was originally expected to be operational in 2022. The project, instead, has been hit by missed deadlines, rising costs and technical problems.
EU-Lisa, the agency responsible for managing the bloc's large-scale IT systems, filed the lawsuit against IBM, Atos and Leonardo in Estonia in December 2025. The dispute centres on the consortium's repeated delays in developing the Entry/Exit System (EES), a digital programme designed to monitor the movements of non-EU travellers.
The Entry/Exit System is designed to replace manual passport stamping with digital checks for travellers entering and leaving the Schengen area.
Under the system, visitors from outside the European Union must provide fingerprints and facial photographs when they first enter the bloc. The information helps authorities identify people who overstay their permitted visits or are wanted by law enforcement agencies.
The Schengen area, which allows travel without routine internal border checks, includes 29 European countries.
Initially scheduled to launch in 2022, the system was fully rolled out only this year. Its introduction has been far from smooth, with fingerprint scanners and other equipment experiencing technical problems.
In some cases, scanners stopped working when exposed to sweat, contributing to hours-long queues at airports. Some countries are also yet to acquire all the necessary equipment.
The lawsuit follows years of disagreements over missed deadlines, financial penalties and responsibility for delays.
In October 2021, Atos Belgium and IBM Belgium challenged a penalty imposed by EU-Lisa, disputing both its basis and calculation. They argued that external factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic, had contributed to the delays.
In February 2022, the three companies also objected to new deadlines set by the agency, describing the proposed schedule as unrealistic and criticising its overall management of the project.
By March that year, an IBM representative had agreed to the agency withholding certain payments until disagreements over damages were resolved.
EU-Lisa confirmed in its annual accounts that it had filed the lawsuit to protect its financial interests after repeated delays in the project's delivery.
The delays also increased the project's financial burden.
The contract value had already risen from €142 million to €212 million in 2021. EU-Lisa later reported additional expenses linked to the delays, including higher hardware and software maintenance costs.
In 2023, the agency nearly doubled the EES budget to €40 million by reallocating funds from other projects.
The original contract expired last year, and a new consortium took over implementation. IBM, Atos and Leonardo remained responsible until August, according to EU-Lisa.
The project also faced allegations of potential cybersecurity risks. The Financial Times reported last year that Atos had used its Moscow office to procure software for the sensitive border system.
The European Anti-Fraud Office, known as Olaf, found sufficient grounds for further investigation and said proven Russian involvement would constitute a breach of contract. However, it referred the matter back to EU-Lisa, despite describing the agency's initial assessment as insufficient.
EU-Lisa said it had found no evidence of security breaches.
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