Prime minister to be grilled over CIA in Palma

THE Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will today be grilled by parliament over reports that alleged CIA “terror planes” have been using Spanish airports, in particular Palma's Son San Joan. Yesterday, European Union Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini threatened sanctions for any EU nation found to have allowed secret CIA prison camps to operate on their soil as the European Union embarks on its investigation into the CIa's alleged suspect activities. “Should the accusations be accurate, I would be forced to draw serious consequences,” Frattini said. The EU had made contact several days ago with the White House about possible secret CIA activities in Europe, but Washington had “unfortunately not yet given any formal assurance” that the reports were untrue, he said. The US State Department said it is ready to answer queries “in as complete and forthright a manner as we possibly can” as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a trip to Europe next week. A number of European countries apart from Spain have opened inquiries into the alleged CIA plane landings.