22/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - MEP of the Bonino List Maurizio Turco has put many questions to the European Commission on the issue of 2,500 tonnes of sugar, 2,252 tonnes of meat and 622 tonnes of butter imported between 1998 and 2001 by the Vatican State, benefiting from export refunds from the EU. In a communication, the radical Italian confirmed that data on refunds make it clear that, in particular, the exportation of 38,985 kilos of meat to the Vatican in 2000 benefited from refunds of over EUR 300,000, equivalent to support of EUR 7,832.27 per kilo. 'Doesn't the European Commission find it in the least alarming that around EUR 8,000 was refunded per kilo of meat?', asked the concerned parliamentarian. Furthermore, noting that the Commission's database (CATS - Clearance Audit Trail System) on products benefiting from refunds has been providing information on the quantities and sums concerned since 1998, he continued: 'What is this apparent monitoring, in this specific case? We're not talking about 38.95 kilos of meat, but 389,850 kilos'. In the 'tiny' Vatican State, pointed out Mr Turco, 'the manager of meat sales to the Vatican market has publicly declared that ten thousand people possess the access card (...), without a photo, without an expiry date'. And he asked whether 'the Commission was interested to know if the Italian Republic, a border Community country, was capable of checking whether Community citizens buy, without the right, products benefiting from Community contributions?'