eu-LISA Sues IBM, Atos and Leonardo After Filing Complaint in Estonia in 2025
Key Facts
The EU agency eu-LISA has sued IBM, Atos and Leonardo over repeated delays in developing Europe’s Entry/Exit System, Reuters reported, citing a Financial Times report based on internal correspondence. The agency filed the complaint in Estonia in December 2025 to protect its financial interests after delays it described as repeated. Harju County Court confirmed it had received the case but did not set a hearing date. The lawsuit was reported on 9 November 2026. eu-LISA said the proceedings do not affect the system’s operation and that the dispute concerns delivery delays during the development phase.
The case stems from a core contract the agency awarded in 2019 to a consortium comprising IBM Belgium, Atos Belgium and Leonardo. The contract covered implementation of the Entry/Exit System and its maintenance for six years, linking the dispute to the development, delivery and maintenance obligations agreed between the agency and the companies. The lawsuit centers on repeated delays in developing the system, according to the report cited by Reuters from the Financial Times. In a letter dated October 2021, Atos Belgium and IBM Belgium challenged the principle of a penalty imposed by the agency and the method used to calculate it. The companies attributed the delays in the letter to external factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2022, the three companies challenged new deadlines set by eu-LISA, according to the report. The correspondence shows that the dispute over delays, penalties and deadlines was ongoing before the complaint was filed in Estonia in December 2025. The agency said it had turned to the courts to protect its financial interests after repeated delays, while the court has not set a date to hear the case. At the same time, eu-LISA distinguished the contractual dispute from the existing service, saying the lawsuit does not affect operation of the Entry/Exit System. The court case therefore focuses on the development and delivery phase, according to the agency’s clarification.
The European Commission says the Entry/Exit System began a gradual rollout on 12 October 2025, which was completed on 10 April 2026. This places the complaint filed in December 2025 within the gradual rollout period, while operations were completed in April 2026. eu-LISA said the legal proceedings do not affect the operation of the current system, despite the dispute’s connection to earlier development delays. Leonardo shares, listed under the ticker FINMY, closed at 26.77 dollars on 6 November 2026, according to EL7 data. Available data do not establish that the closing price resulted from the lawsuit or reflected a financial or reputational impact from it.