European prosecutors are investigating how the Moscow office of the French IT group Atos procured software in 2021 for the highly classified EES project, reports FT. All visitors to the EU who are not its citizens should have their biometric data collected and stored by this system.
According to documents reviewed by the publication, the French IT group Atos, with the help of employees in Russia, purchased software in 2021 for the highly classified EES project, which aims to collect and store biometric data on all non-EU visitors to the European Union.The revelation of the involvement of Russian employees has raised significant security concerns regarding the ambitious reconstruction of the EU’s border infrastructure.
The launch of the EES remains uncertain after the EU cancelled several planned dates due to technical issues.Documents indicate that the Atos branch in Moscow operated under a license that granted the Russian security service FSB access to its operations in the country.Four people familiar with the events stated that employees of the Moscow office were directly involved in the procurement of software for the EES border system.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is investigating the involvement of the Russian branch of Atos in a border project, according to two sources. EPPO stated that it does not comment on cases and does not publicly confirm the investigations it conducts. There have been no charges brought to date.
The so-called EU Entry/Exit System (EES) will collect data on the movements of every foreign traveler entering or exiting the bloc, recording biometrics and personal data as well as their visa status.OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud watchdog, investigated allegations of Atos Russia’s involvement last year, previously unreported.
According to one person directly familiar with the investigation, it was found that the measures taken to address “security issues” by the EU-Lisa agency, which implements the EEAS, were insufficient.The EES system was supposed to start operating in the European Union from November 10, but it was postponed due to objections from several member states.
Earlier, the European Commission also announced that, by the spring of 2025, the EU plans to implement the ETIAS system, which will require travellers from visa-free countries to pay a fee of 7 euros every three years to authorise their trips.
