Vienna has long been a hub for espionage, hosting leading multilateral institutions such as OPEC, the IAEA, and the OSCE, according to major media reports. Estimates put the number of secret agents in the city as high as 7,000 among 17,000 accredited diplomats. Since 2020, Austria has expelled 14 Russian diplomats, according to the Austrian Foreign Ministry. The former Austrian domestic intelligence agency BVT acknowledged that limited legal options lead to a high incidence of foreign intelligence and secret services in the country, according to a statement.
The Russian embassy in Vienna described the decision as outrageous, unjustified, politically motivated, and categorically unacceptable, and promised harsh retaliation, according to an embassy statement, without specifying the form.
The three expelled staff have already left Austria, major media reported. According to ORF, the Austrian public broadcaster, equipment on the embassy roofs was siphoning data from organizations using satellite internet, though the exact data collected and how authorities confirmed the activity remain unclear, and officials have not identified the specific entities that were targeted.
The Austrian government has promised to close a loophole in the criminal code that allows spying activities if they do not target Austria directly, effectively allowing foreign spies to operate with near impunity as long as they avoid Austrian interests. Austria's three-party coalition government drafted legislation to expand espionage laws and make spying against EU institutions and Vienna-based international organizations illegal, according to major media reports, aiming to criminalize spying against a broader range of targets, including EU bodies.
Pressure for a crackdown grew, according to political observers, after the arrest of Egisto Ott, a former Austrian counter-espionage official, in 2024, and he went on trial in January accused of handing information to Russian intelligence, major media reported, exposing deep counter-intelligence failures and intensifying calls for tougher laws. A government spokesperson said it is taking a consistent course of action against espionage.