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Austria's government on Wednesday launched plans to tighten the country's laws against spying, which at present explicitly ban espionage directed against Austria itself but not if it targets other countries or international organizations.
Austria is a European Union member that has a policy of military neutrality dating back to the 1950s. Its capital, Vienna, is host to several U.N. agencies including the International Atomic Energy Agency. It is also the home of other international groups such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.
“Espionage is a real threat to our security, to security in our country, but above all to our reputation as Austria, as the capital of dialogue, as an official location of the U.N. and over 40 international organizations,” Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said as Cabinet ministers presented the draft legislation. “We have a responsibility ... and we are fulfilling this responsibility.”
Meinl-Reisinger acknowledged that Vienna has often been described as a “capital of espionage,” a reputation dating back to the Cold War, but said she wants to dispense with any “romantic idea” of spying.
