"European identities as well as European values will be the focus of our conference": Wolfgang Schüssel, Austrian Chancellor and president on duty of the EU Council, officially opened in Salzburg the "Sound of Europe", the two days of debates on the future of the EU, which falls on the same day as the opening celebrations for the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth (27 January 1756). Today and tomorrow, the birthplace of the famous composer will be in the limelight: the schedule includes three work sessions opened by a report from the French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, and a final round table, which will be attended by delegates from the 25 member states, many national politicians and people from the cultural and academic communities. Tonight there will be a concert by the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra, directed by Riccardo Muti, playing Mozart. Schüssel specifies: "I am aware of the way I use the term Identity in the plural, since the European identity includes several factors. We are an orchestra which plays in unison a music passage and develops common ideas". The titles of the three discussion panels are all inspired by Mozart’s anniversary: "The European crisis. Melody in minor?"; "And now? A new melody?"; "Muses or mermaids".
