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EU evasive on secret CIA jails
11/09/2006 17:04 - (SA)
Brussels - The European Commission remained evasive on Monday over the question of secret US prisons on its soil.
Questions on the subject have redoubled since US President George W Bush admitted last week for the first time that the US central intelligence agency (CIA) covertly held prisoners in overseas camps.
The chair of the European parliament's foreign affairs committee, Elmar Brok, said over the weekend that the commission should "formally approach Washington to find out where in Europe" any such secret prisons were located.
Bush said in his comments that the CIA was no longer holding anyone in the prisons, but added that the programme continued.
Chief commission spokesperson Johannes Laitenberger said on Monday that Bush's announcement did not amount to a "new situation".
Asked repeatedly whether the commission would formally ask Washington where the secret prisons were, Laitenberger avoided giving a yes or no answer.
After saying that he did not have the details of Brok's request, Laitenberger stressed that Brussels had made it "absolutely clear that the European Commission stands behind the inquiry being held by the European parliament" into the issue.
- AFP
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