EU says no assurances from U.S. on secret
prisons
Reuters
November 28, 2005
BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States has told the European Union it needs
more time to respond formally to reports that the CIA has run secret prisons
for terrorist suspects in Eastern Europe, an EU commissioner said on
Monday.
"Right now, unfortunately (we have) no formal reassurances on that," EU
Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told a news conference in Berlin.
A senior Commission official raised the reports with the White House and
State Department on a visit to Washington last week, he said.
"They told us: 'Give us the appropriate time to evaluate the situation',"
Frattini said.
Asked about possible consequences for EU-U.S. relations, he said: "Our
attitude will depend on how long ... it will take" for Washington to respond to
the allegations.
He said the EU's first request to the U.S. government would be to punish any
violations strongly.
Frattini also reiterated that if any EU states were found to have hosted
secret prisons, as reported by the Washington Post this month, they would face
suspension of their voting rights in the 25-nation bloc.
"I repeat: the consequences are extremely serious," he said.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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