27/08/2003 (Agence Europe) - Last week in Strasbourg, in answer to press questions on the possible hearing of Romano Prodi at the EP Committee on Budgetary Control on the subject of fraud involving Eurostat directors, the spokesman for Commissioner Solbes said on Wednesday that the European Commission had not received an official invitation from Parliament (Ed.: another possibility would, it seems, be participation by the President of the Commission at the Conference of Presidents of political groups). Furthermore, the weekly Stern has again attacked Neil Kinnock, reproaching him for having said that he had not learnt of the existence of an internal report showing irregularities within Eurostat until September 2002, although, in a letter which is in the possession of the German magazine, the European Commission vice-president cited the report back in January of the same year. According to Stern, when questioned on this matter Mr Kinnock replied that he already knew about the document before autumn 2002 but that it was not until September that he had read it in its entirety.