{"text":[[{"start":8.6,"text":"The EU has sued IBM and two European companies over repeated delays in developing its new smart border system, whose rollout caused widespread disruption at airports this summer."}],[{"start":19.64,"text":"EU-Lisa, the EU agency overseeing the system, sued the US tech company, French IT group Atos and Italian defence contractor Leonardo over delays after the consortium repeatedly missed deadlines and disputed the agency’s warnings and fines, according to internal communications seen by the FT."}],[{"start":39.7,"text":"The new Entry/Exit System obliges travellers from outside the bloc to scan their fingerprints and photographs when first entering the Schengen area in an effort to identify people who overstay their visas or are wanted by authorities. The Schengen area of free movement includes 29 European countries, most of them EU members."}],[{"start":60.36,"text":"Originally scheduled to launch in 2022, the system was fully rolled out only this year and its introduction has been plagued by software and hardware glitches, including fingerprint scanners malfunctioning when smeared with sweat, causing hours-long queues at airports across Europe. Some EU countries are still in the process of acquiring the scanners."}],[{"start":81.08,"text":"EU-Lisa confirmed in its latest annual accounts, published in July, that it had filed a lawsuit in December 2025 in the agency’s host country of Estonia. “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 interests.”"}],[{"start":103.24,"text":"A spokesperson for Estonia’s Harju county court — the country’s biggest district court — confirmed that the civil case had been lodged with them. No hearings have taken place or been scheduled, they added."}],[{"start":115.04,"text":"EU-Lisa declined to comment on the ongoing legal matter and said that it has “no impact on the functioning of the Entry/Exit System (EES), which is fully operational across Europe”."}],[{"start":126.62,"text":"The European Commission stressed that the lawsuit was about the “delays in the delivery of the EES at the time of the system development” and was “not related to the operation of the EES”."}],[{"start":137.68,"text":"Leonardo and Atos declined to comment on the legal proceedings. IBM did not respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":145.16,"text":"Letters between the consortium and EU-Lisa, seen by the FT, show disagreements about missed deadlines and fines that go back several years."}],[{"start":153.44,"text":"In one letter from October 2021, Atos Belgium and IBM Belgium challenged “both the principle . . . and the calculation” of a fine that had been imposed, claiming that the delays were caused by “external factors” including the Covid-19 pandemic."}],[{"start":169.24,"text":"A few months later, in February 2022, the three companies pushed back against new deadlines set by EU-Lisa. “Ignoring reality is not prudent and will not help to achieve the plan. On the contrary, working with an unrealistic plan will cause frustration for all stakeholders,” the consortium wrote. It also criticised the EU agency’s “overall governance”."}],[{"start":191.56,"text":"In a March 2022 letter, a representative for IBM agreed to EU-Lisa withholding certain payments until the issue of damages was settled."}],[{"start":199.82,"text":"In its 2022 accounts, EU-Lisa said it “experienced difficulties with the consortium contracted for the implementation of the EES” and was assessing “additional costs” caused by the delays, which also pushed back other IT systems. This came after the total contract value had already been raised from €142mn to €212mn in 2021."}],[{"start":222.92,"text":"A year later, the agency said in its annual accounts that the delays had “increased the budgetary needs for the implementation” of the EES, including by raising hardware and software maintenance costs. The agency nearly doubled the EES budget in 2023 to €40mn by reallocating funds from other projects, the accounts show."}],[{"start":242.88,"text":"The contract expired last year and a new consortium of companies took over the implementation of the EES, though Atos, Leonardo and IBM remained in charge until August, according to EU-Lisa."}],[{"start":255.02,"text":"The project also faced allegations of cyber security risks. The FT reported last year that Atos had used its Moscow office to procure software for the sensitive border system. EU-Lisa said no security breaches had been identified."}],[{"start":268.68,"text":"Olaf, the EU’s anti-fraud office, found “sufficient elements” to warrant further investigation and said the allegations of Russian involvement, if proven, would breach the contract. But it referred the case back to EU-Lisa, despite describing the agency’s initial assessment as “insufficient”, according to an internal report seen by the FT."}],[{"start":291.84,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794208170_2074.mp3"}