Brussels, 22/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - At the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on Monday, the EU Member States asked the British Presidency to send a letter to the United States to ask for clarification about media reports (in the Washington Post) about secret CIA prisons and holding centres for alleged Islamic terrorists. Reuters reports that several ministers demanded a letter be sent and the British Presidency acquiescing. The US Administration has so far refused to comment on whether such secret prisons exist. Press reports suggest there are several such 'gulags' in Europe where suspected Islamic terrorists have been held. New information was reported last week (see EUROPE 9071) by European media about the CIA using a series of European countries for transporting, illegally detaining and torturing Islamic suspects. European Commissioner Franco Frattini recently told the European Parliament that it would not be holding an investigation because the Treaty does not give the Commission powers to do so (see EUROPE 9068).