Austria plans to draw on Finland’s experience to strengthen its own resilience to hybrid threats. During a working visit to Finland, Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger met Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen in Helsinki. The two sides discussed European security, continued support for Ukraine and ways to counter hybrid threats from Russia, including cyberattacks, disinformation and espionage.
Vienna views security as extending beyond military defence and is interested in Finland’s model of “comprehensive security.” The approach involves simultaneously protecting democratic institutions, critical infrastructure and social cohesion.
Following the visit, Vienna identified several areas in which Finland’s experience could be applied:
- improving the cyber defence of government institutions and critical infrastructure;
- strengthening resilience to information influence. Vienna intends to move from responding to individual disinformation campaigns towards a systematic approach focused on improving media literacy among the population;
- stepping up efforts to counter the activities of foreign intelligence services in Austria, particularly those of Russia. The presence in Vienna of the United Nations, the OSCE, the IAEA and other international organisations creates favourable conditions for foreign intelligence operations under diplomatic cover. According to Austria’s Foreign Ministry, four diplomats linked to intelligence activities have been expelled from the country over the past 12 months, while the number of Russian diplomatic personnel has fallen by 23% since 2022;
- expanding criminal liability for espionage.
Adopting elements of the Finnish model would allow Austria to modernise its national security system without formally abandoning its neutrality. Developing civilian defence mechanisms would enable Vienna to deepen practical cooperation with EU and NATO countries without raising the politically sensitive issue of changing its non-aligned status.
To slow this process, Russia is likely to conduct information campaigns portraying the reforms as Vienna abandoning its neutrality and gradually subordinating its policies to NATO interests.
