On Thursday, April 4, Justice Minister Alma Zadic announced plans to tighten the rules on espionage in Austria, explicitly targeting other countries or international organisations. This decision comes after the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer on allegations of spying for Russia. Austria is a member of the European Union and has a policy of military neutrality. Its capital, Vienna, hosts the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and several UN organisations. The recent arrest of the intelligence officer highlights the need for Austria to strengthen its security to prevent foreign infiltration, said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Monday, April 1, 2024.
Minister Zadic expressed concerns about Austria being an “island of the blessed” for intelligence services worldwide. She also lamented that gaps in the law have allowed foreign intelligence services to spy on Austria with impunity.
“We want to expand the espionage paragraphs so that, in the future, our law enforcement authorities can also act against foreign spies when they are not targeting Austria itself, but international organisations based here such as the U.N. or friendly states,” Zadic said in a statement to the Austria Press Agency.
Zadic is a Greens member, the junior party in Chancellor Nehammer’s governing coalition. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, a member of Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party, has called for stricter penalties for spying. He also renewed his call for authorities to be allowed to eavesdrop on calls via messenger services, which the Greens have opposed.
