The European Union urged the US today to respond to MEPs heading for Washington next week to investigate allegations of secret CIA detention centres and rendition flights in Europe.
But neither the EU's top Justice official nor the Justice and Interior minister of EU President Austria asked US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales any questions on the allegations during talks today, EU officials said.
A Washington Postreport last year which said the CIA ran secret prisons in Europe and flew suspects to states where they would have been tortured unleashed a spate of investigations, but none have so far produced solid proof.
"I strongly hope members of the [European Parliament's] inquiry committee will be received in Washington by American officials to open a transparent dialogue to find the truth," the EU's Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told a news conference after his talks with Mr Gonzales on EU-US security cooperation.
"It is in our common interest," Mr Frattini stressed, saying how sensitive the issue was in the EU.
Mr Gonzales said the US had used rendition flights but never to extradite someone to a country for torture.
He said he understood that public opinion in the EU demanded that Washington was meeting its commitments under domestic and international law. But he made no commitment to give detailed answers to the delegation of MEPs when they travel to Washington for a four-day trip beginning next Monday.
The European Parliament's committee has heard testimony from alleged victims and rights groups. It has no legal powers, but can recommend political actions against any countries found to have been involved, including the United States.
The head of the committee Claudio Fava said last week there had been thousands of CIA flights transiting through the EU and the CIA had on several occasions kidnapped alleged terrorists in the EU and sent them to countries where they could be tortured.
The delegation will not meet US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice but will hold talks with Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried and the State Department's legal adviser John Bellinger.
British MEP Sarah Ludford said the aim of the visit is "not confrontational but fact-finding ... the committee has no power or no intention to do hearings, we'll have meetings with people willing to see us," said Ms Ludford, who is vice-chair of the committee.