WRITTEN QUESTION E-1480/03 by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission. Refunds on exports from Member States to the Vatican City State of beet and cane sugar and chemically pure sucrose in solid form.
Date: 2003-05-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, Holy See, domestic market, exchange of information, export, export refund, sale, sucrose, sugar, trade volume

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/231

(2003/C 242 E/270)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1479/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(2 May 2003)

Subject: Exports of fresh and frozen beef from Member States to the Vatican City State and management of

the meat counters in the Vatican shop

In an interview published in March 2001 in the trade journal ‘Eurocarni’, Ruggero Guidoni, the head of
Guidoncarni, which is based in Torrevecchia (Rome), stated that in 2000 ‘Unicarni of Reggio Emilia … was
awarded the contract to supply meat to the supermarket run by the Vatican Governorate, where around
ten thousand consumers from that community, including purchasers for several religious houses, can buy
goods on production of the appropriate pass. Ildo Cigarini, the chairman of Unicarni, asked us to manage
the meat counters in the Vatican shop … and we took up a 30 % stake in the company Roma Carni 2000,
which was set up for that purpose. CIR Surgelati also took up a stake. The estimated turnover was
15-20 billion per annum. It could be even higher. Unfortunately the crisis upset these forecasts.’

In the period 1998/2000 the Vatican imported 22 529,27 quintals of meat from EU Member States and
received the export refunds provided for. These exports came from Belgium (579,84 q), Ireland (2 226,01
q), Italy (8 044,47 q) and the Netherlands (11 678,94 q).

In the light of the above, could the Commission indicate:

(cid:1) what instruments the European Union has, or in other words what measures Italy has adopted, to
ensure that the Vatican does not (cid:1) directly or indirectly (cid:1) remarket in the European Union products
for which export refunds are granted;

(cid:1) whether the company that was awarded this meat management contract, or rather its constituent

companies, export meat to the Vatican directly or through an intermediary;

(cid:1) the names of the Belgian, Irish, Italian and Dutch companies that exported meat to the Vatican in the

period 1998/2001?

(2003/C 242 E/271)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1480/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(2 May 2003)

Subject: Refunds on exports from Member States to the Vatican City State of beet and cane sugar and

chemically pure sucrose in solid form

A table containing data on the quantities and value in euro of products for which export refunds are
granted was appended to the supplementary answer to question P-3202/02 (1).

Examination of this table shows that, for exports to the Vatican City State of ‘beet and cane sugar and
chemically pure sucrose in solid form’ (code 1701):

(a)

(b)

in 1999 exports from Italy totalled 79,075 kg for a refund of EUR 385 731,05, equivalent to aid of
EUR 4 878,04 per kg of sugar exported;

in 2000 exports from Italy totalled 70,115 kg for a refund of EUR 356 906,17, equivalent to aid of
EUR 5 090,30 per kg of sugar exported;

(c) no units of measurement are given for the two following sets of figures:

1.

2.

an export from France of 0,110 in 1998, equivalent to aid of EUR 44,18 and;

an export from Spain of 28,030 in 1999, equivalent to aid of EUR 1 268,38.

C 242 E/232

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

In all likelihood, the correct figures should be: (a) 790 750 kg; (b) 701 150 kg; (c) 110 kg; d) 2 803 kg, at a
level of aid ranging between a more credible EUR 0,40 and EUR 0,51 per kg of sugar exported.

If one were to make these corrections, total exports would be 727 810 kg for 1998, 793 553 kg for 1999,
1 012 800 kg for 2000 and 26 435,300 kg for 2001.

Under Regulation (EC) No 419/2002 (2), it should also be possible for the tabular data, extracted from the
CATS database, to be used for monitoring and forecasting purposes.

It is specified in the table that the units of measurement, weights or quantities and the amounts in euro are
provided by the Member States.

In the light of the above, could the Commission indicate:

(cid:1) whether the data supplied by the Member States are checked and who is responsible for doing this;

(cid:1) whether the quantities of beet and cane sugar and chemically pure sucrose in solid form exported
from Member States to the Vatican City State were subject to any monitoring, what form that this
took, and what forecasts were made in respect of these quantities;

(cid:1) whether it does not consider the level of imports to the minuscule Vatican City State to be too high,

or in other words that it can be assumed these products are sold in Italy?

(1) OJ C 137 E, 12.6.2003, p. 172.
(2) OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 8.

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1477/03, E-1478/03, E-1479/03 and E-1480/03
given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2003)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its
findings as soon as possible.

(2003/C 242 E/272)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1596/03

by Regina Bastos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 May 2003)

Subject: Closure of ‘Schuh-Union’ located in Ponte de Lima, Portugal

The German shoe company Schuh-Union closed its factory in Ponte de Lima and more than 180 workers
lost their jobs. Management informed staff about the definitive closure by simply putting up a notice at the
entrance to the factory.

The company had drawn up a protocol guaranteeing that it would stay in Ponte de Lima for at least 20
years, but it closed down after only 12 years.

Management blamed the closure on a shortage of orders, but in actual fact the orders had been passed on
to other factories in Romania and Turkey, where labour is cheaper.

In May 2002 Schuh-Union already closed the factory at Maia (Portugal) in order to relocate to Romania,
depriving 460 workers of their jobs. At that time management claimed that the closure would enable the
factory at Ponte de Lima to maintain its full production capacity and retain all the staff.