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Austria’s spy arrest puts Cold War spotlight back on Vienna

The arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer on suspicion of spying for Russia has put a spotlight on Vienna as a spy nest in a new era of East-West confrontation.

Published: 9 April 2024 09:21 CEST
Austria's spy arrest puts Cold War spotlight back on Vienna
File picture: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg on October 3, 2018. (Photo by Alexey NIKOLSKY / SPUTNIK / AFP)

The Austrian capital was long a hotbed of spy activity during the Cold War. And Chancellor Karl Nehammer last week urged heightened security, calling a National Security Council meeting on Tuesday to “assess and clarify the security situation” following the “serious accusations” against Egisto Ott.

Ott — a former intelligence service employee suspended in 2017 — was arrested on March 29 and accused of “systematically” providing information to the Russian secret services, according to information from the public prosecutor’s office quoted by the APA press agency.

Ott was detained after British authorities seized written messages exchanged between on-the-run tycoon Jan Marsalek and a suspected spy arrested in Britain.

Marsalek is the Austrian former chief operating officer of payments firm Wirecard, who became a wanted man in Germany over fraud allegations.

He fled Germany in June 2020 through Austria and is believed to be in Russia.

Lax spy laws

There are other signs of a return to Vienna’s coffee house espionage reputation that it has never really lost.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin has been waging a war against Ukraine for more than two years, “moles” are still operating in Vienna, according to a source close to the Austrian intelligence services interviewed by AFP.

Austrian media reports have said Ott helped carry out Marsalek’s work for Russia in Austria, including spying on a reporter investigating Moscow’s spy networks who left Vienna after a break-in to his apartment.

READ ALSO: Is Austria’s capital Vienna really a ‘city of spies’?

In the latest case, Ott — who was previously arrested in 2021 but then released — has also been accused of passing the smartphone data of three senior government officials to Russia in return for payment.

Contacted by AFP before his arrest, Ott denied he had spied for Russia.

The Alpine country of nine million — host to multiple UN agencies — has traditionally seen itself as a bridge between the East and West, but has been known for its past cozy relations with Russia before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its lax spy laws.

“We have been for decades much too Putin friendly,” historian and intelligence service expert Siegfried Beer told AFP.

The government has scrambled to contain the scandal, with Interior Minister Gerhard Karner promising a “complete clarification” following the arrest.

Conservative Chancellor Nehammer has suggested the strengthening of the intelligence services, while his justice minister Alma Zadic, from the Greens, wants to amend the law to widen prosecutions for spying.

“Legal loopholes have so far made it possible for foreign intelligence services to spy in Austria with impunity. We have to close these,” Zadic said, describing Austria as accused for decades of being “an island of blessings for secret and intelligence services from all over the world”.

Beer also evoked Austria’s “weak” intelligence service with recruits from police and military ranks rather than elite universities. He estimated that there are some 7,000 foreign agents in Vienna, which is a “favourite place” because of its high quality of living.

Far-right links

The revelations following Ott’s arrest have refreshed accusations against the far-right FPOe (Freedom Party), currently leading polls ahead of elections expected in September.

Nehammer last week warned Austria had to prevent Russian spy networks from “infiltrating or exploiting political parties or networks,” referring to the FPOe.

The party has dismissed all accusations, pointing out to AFP that it let a “cooperation pact” with Putin’s party expire in 2022.

READ ALSO: Former Austrian spy chief warns of far-right FPÖ’s Russia ties

It was under current FPOe leader Herbert Kickl’s time as interior minister in 2018 that authorities raided the country’s intelligence service, seriously damaging its reputation.

The then FPOe-appointed foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, in 2018 made headlines when she invited Putin to her wedding, where she danced with him.

Beer said he doubted the current scandal would dent the FPOe’s support.

In the past, several cases — including deaths of high-profile figures — have raised eyebrows.

A former Jordanian intelligence chief, a former Libyan oil minister and the disgraced ex-son-in-law of a Kazakh president all died in Austria. No foul play was officially found in any of the cases.

By Blaise Gauquelin

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MIGRANT CRISIS

How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

The number of asylum applications has dropped in Austria, but changes in the profile of those arriving are creating new demands and new policies.

Published: 22 April 2024 16:05 CEST
How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

Asylum policy is a controversial topic in Austria, especially in an election year. The far-right has been pushing its anti-immigration agenda to gather support ahead of federal elections later this year.

While the sheer number of refugees can shape an election, differences in who those refugees are and where they come from also create challenges and demands for government action.

The profile of those seeking asylum in Austria has changed compared to recent years.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost a third of asylum applications came from children between the ages of zero and seven, as Austrian media has reported.

Around 53 percent of applicants are minors, and the proportion of women seeking asylum has also risen significantly. However, the overall number of asylum applications during the period fell by 32 percent compared to the same period the year before. 

Whereas 2023 most asylum applications in Austria were from males (only around 24 percent of applications were submitted by women), the country is now experiencing the “family reunification” phenomenon. In other words the wifes and children are following to seek protection.

Asylum applicants are still mostly from Syria and Afghanistan – two nationalities with a high chance of obtaining protection in Austria. Only 30 percent of applications from Syrians were rejected, whereas for Afghans 39 percent were refused.

READ ALSO: Border centres and ‘safe’ states: The EU’s major asylum changes explained

What does the change in profile mean for Austria?

One immediate consequence of the influx of children has already been seen in Vienna, the destination of most refugees: the school system is overwhelmed with the new arrivals, as several Austrian newspapers have reported in the last few weeks.

“This is putting such a strain on the system that high-quality teaching is hardly possible any more,” Thomas Krebs, a union representative, told Kurier. According to the report, around 300 children will arrive in Vienna every month, resulting in a need for 140 classes by the end of the school year. 

The Austrian capital was already overwhelmed by a shortage of teachers and an overflow of schoolchildren—particularly since the war in Ukraine, when 4,000 children were integrated into Vienna’s schools from February 2022.

The kids coming from Syria also need more support than merely German classes: “The Syrian children who come to us from refugee camps are a particular challenge for the system. Many are traumatised and often not even literate in their own language,” Krebs said.

He added that children need to spend more time in kindergarten—to learn “the basics, not just the language.” The education expert also believes it’s necessary to invest more in extracurricular activities, where young people can learn German, acquire behavioural skills that are important for school, and learn how to spend their free time meaningfully.

READ ALSO: What’s the reason behind the drop in Austrian asylum seeker claims?

What is Vienna doing?

Vienna’s Department of Education points out that new teachers are being recruited. In the current academic year, 2,400 teachers have been hired, Kurier reported.

Director of Education Heinrich Himmer said: “We support pupils and face the challenges together so that learning and living together work well. I would like to thank everyone who works so hard in Vienna’s schools. However, the responsibility for integration is an all-Austrian one, where solutions exist at the federal level.”

How does family reunification work?

There is a special process for granting family reunification rights for family members of refugees in Austria. 

According to information from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, if a foreigner has been granted asylum status in Austria, family members can apply for an entry permit at an Austrian representation authority abroad within three months of this status being granted.

If this is granted, they can travel to Austria to apply for asylum in the family procedure and receive the same protection status as the reference person. If the application is only submitted after three months, they must also provide proof of adequate accommodation, health insurance, and income.

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