The European Union is suing IBM for missing deadlines for a new border system.
The European Union has sued US IBM, France's Athos and Italy's Leonardo over repeated delays in developing the new entry/exit system (EES) border control system, the Financial Times writes.
The claim was submitted to the court in Estonia on December 22, 2025 by the European Union agency eu-LISA, which oversees the system. According to the FT, the consortium repeatedly missed deadlines and disputed the agency's fines.
The EES requires travelers from non-EU countries to be fingerprinted and photographed upon first entry into the Schengen area.
The launch of the system was planned for 2022, but it was fully operational only in April 2026. The assimilation was accompanied by glitches.
In particular, fingerprint scanners stopped working when sweat got on them, and long lines formed at airports.
In Frankfurt the maximum waiting time in July reached 120 minutes compared to 60 minutes a year earlier; In Amsterdam it increased from 80 to 120 minutes.