Italy's new president Sergio Mattarella is expected in the German capital Monday for his first foreign trip, during which he is to meet his counterpart Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel, and visit a Berlin Wall memorial site, according to dpa. Mattarella's office said the decision to pick Berlin for his first international outing since his January 31 parliamentary election was in recognition of strong Italo-German ties and of Germany's leadership role in the European Union. Later on Monday, Mattarella was slated to move on to Brussels, for meetings scheduled on the next day with top EU officials, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
