Brussels, 07/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - Last week, ten days ahead of the signature in Athens on 16 April of the Accession Treaty, Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler defended the farming deals negotiated at the end of last year with the first ten accession countries, arguing that the accession criteria would make a serious contribution to updating the accession countries' agriculture and making them more competitive on the enlarged internal market. Speaking in Brussels on 2 April at a...