Brussels, 22/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - During a hearing at the European Parliament, Commissioner Chris Patten defended the draft reform of the EU's external aid adopted on 16 May by the European Commission. "This reform will correct the poor image of the EU in the outside world, " he said, stressing the important role external policy had come to play over the last decade, with a tripling of the annual volume of credits to Euro 10.2 million in the space of ten years. He noted the problems of...