German Chancellor Angela Merkel made her first foreign visit of the new year to Austria, which assumed the presidency of the European Union on Sunday, with a pledge to make the continent a "strong and reliable partner in the world." Merkel was attending the Vienna Philharmonic's traditional New Year's Day concert _ a tribute to Mozart, whose 250th birthday is being celebrated all year in Austria _ in the ornate Golden Salon of the Austrian capital's elegant Musikverein hall. She was accompanied at the concert by her Austrian counterpart, Wolfgang Schuessel, as well as Austrian President Heinz Fischer; Slovenia's prime minister, Janez Jansa; and Guenther Verheugen, vice president of the European Commission. The leaders were to hold informal talks afterward over lunch at Vienna's Albertina museum, the Associated Press reported.
