The European Union's top justice minister says member nations could lose their voting rights if they are found to have allowed secret CIA prisons within their borders.
EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini says nations face the loss of their right to vote in the Council of EU Ministers, which is the bloc's main decision making body.
American newspapers have reported the Central Intelligence Agency runs a secret prison network for terrorist suspects in several eastern European countries.
Mr. Frattini says EU justice officials last week formally asked Washington about the allegations, but they have not yet received a response.
Europe's human rights watchdog has opened an investigation into the alleged prisons and reports of flights transporting CIA prisoners through EU airspace.
Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.
