Overview

• Between March 2020 and March 2022 the Tribunal de Cuentas found that the absence of a dedicated IT platform and weak coordination led to contradictory and duplicate ERTE-COVID resolutions.
• At its peak, the furlough scheme supported over 558,000 companies and 4.15 million workers with more than €26 billion mobilized in benefits and social security exemptions.
• Control measures uncovered €25.4 million in unemployment benefits paid to 10,896 workers whose inactivity was not reported and flagged 278,757 companies for possible irregularities, all of which were referred to the Labour Inspection.
• The SEPE had to draw on €13.535 billion of its own reserves after failing to receive EU funds directly earmarked for pandemic furlough support.
• The report urges the Labour Ministry to implement computerized processing and establish a formal information-exchange protocol among labour authorities to strengthen transparency and oversight.