Europe’s €2bn digital border: The surveillance machine hiding in plain sight

This infrastructure relies on two primary pillars: the Entry/Exit System (EES) for biometric tracking and the European Travel Authorisation System (ETIAS), which pre-screens individuals using algorithmic risk assessments. While officials frame this as a simple administrative integration of immigration and policing data, the reality is a complex, opaque web of interconnected profiles. The ETIAS algorithm evaluates applicants based on factors like occupation, education, and nationality, raising significant concerns about how the system might inadvertently use these data points as proxies for race or socioeconomic status.

The role of private contractors

At the heart of this project is EU-LISA, the agency headquartered in Tallinn tasked with designing Europe’s digital frontiers. An analysis of €1.99bn in procurement contracts reveals that private firms—including IDEMIA, Sopra Steria, IBM, and Leonardo SpA—wield substantial influence over the system's capabilities. Through 'evolutionary maintenance' and technical adjustments, these companies can introduce new functionalities, such as enhanced biometric matching, often bypassing formal political oversight. For migrants, these systems create a precarious reality where a single data error can lead to denied entry or disrupted livelihoods, with little recourse for appeal. As these surveillance capacities expand, the current legal protections, such as the General Data Protection Regulation and the AI Act, are increasingly undermined by broad exceptions for law enforcement and migration control.