Very true; Zurich refused me transit through the Class C above the Alps; the base of this was FL130 and the terrain was up to FL115.
This was completely stupid since there could not have been any traffic until at least a few thousand feet above. The airway MEAs (where I fly nowadays, with an IR) are FL140/FL160 or so there.
However, the degree to which one can bank on getting a CAS transit anywhere is variable. One can't really fly VFR and bet the whole shop on a transit. ATC are entitled to just tell you to p*** off, and often do.