US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said every EU government had the right to prevent terrorist attacks ahead of a trip to Europe that will be dominated by allegations of CIA impropriety.

Last week, Rice promised to reply to European officials concerned over reports that the CIA used several European airports and secret jails to transport and detain terrorist suspects.

Shortly before taking off from Andrews Air Force base for a European tour that includes stops in Germany, Romania Ukraine and Brussels, Rice said it was "up to those governments and their citizens to decide if they wish to work with us to prevent terrorist attacks in their own country or other countries.

"They have a sovereign right to make that choice," Rice said.

Rice didn't directly address the allegation raised in the Washington Post in early November that the CIA had set up secret prisons in Eastern European countries which it used to detain and interrogate prisoners. She did talk about allegations that the CIA touched down at European airports while transporting terrorist suspects to third countries for interrogation, a practice known as rendition.