On Thursday, May 15th 2025, a conference was held in Rome, promoted by the European Labour Authority (ELA) and INPS. The title of the event was:“Cooperation and data exchange to improve cross-border social security services and tackling fraud and error”. It involved several countries and covered a range of topics.
Participant countries were Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. Moreover, representatives of several institutions took part in the conference. For example, members of ELA, INPS, the European Commission and the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.
The focus of the event has been the telematic exchange of data between Member states of the European Union in the field of social security. Such practice aims at
- improving cooperation related to social security services;
- tackling fraudulent practices and transnational illegal conducts.
In this context, INPS General Director, Valeria Vittimberga, intervened. She emphasized the importance of control as a fundamental tool for preventing fraud and irregularities.
From the Signing of the Agreement to Institutional Interventions: A Brief Summary of the Conference
Italy and France opened the conference, represented respectively by INPS and France Travail. They signed an agreement for cooperation and data exchange aimed at preventing fraud. The parties agreed that such data exchange shall be free of charge and promote shared methodologies to address irregular and fraudulent actions concerning unemployment benefits.
The agreement establishes that the parties shall define possible risk scenarios. Based on these scenarios the two signatory countries will take mutual action to ensure the effective exchange of relevant data and information.
INPS President Gabriele Fava highlighted the importance of this agreement, noting that in the past “agreements of this kind had only been concluded in the field of pensions, but in light of the growing mobility of workers across Europe, we are convinced that interoperability between social security institutions is a necessary condition to fight fraud across all areas of social security intervention.”
Cosmin Boiangiu, Executive Director of ELA, also expressed his support for this type of bilateral cooperation. He considered it a valid model for other Member States interested in committing to cooperation agreements for social security coordination.
Finally, representing the European Commission, Benoit Abeloos, Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, took part in the conference. He highlighted the goal of promoting cooperation between social security institutions to ensure that Member States’ social policies are more effective.
Indeed, coordinated action between countries and their respective institutions has proven to be a fundamental tool for ensuring greater supervision and the protection of legality.
