The Austrian Chancellor, Christian Stocker (ÖVP), has announced that Austria plans to take a more active approach against Russian agents who operate from Austrian territory but target Germany. Stocker stated in an interview with the “Bild-Zeitung” that they would be changing the legal framework governing how Austria handles espionage and intelligence services domestically. Currently, espionage is only punishable if the activities are directed against Austria, a limitation the government aims to expand and reform within the coalition to establish a better legal basis. When questioned whether this new focus would explicitly target agents working out of Vienna against Germany, Stocker confirmed that this would be the objective. The Russian embassy in Vienna is currently viewed as an “agent nest,” enabling activities against Germany and the Czech Republic, precisely because current Austrian law limits criminal prosecution solely to acts directed at Austria.
Politics
