Meeting with Macron

Nehammer in Paris: spying scandal as ballast

Nehammer was already a guest of Macron at the end of February.(Bild: APA/AFP/Ludovic MARIN)

Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) will travel to Paris on Thursday, where he will be received by President Emmanuel Macron. The recent espionage scandal involving Austrian secret service employees is complicating the chancellor's visit to France.

A passion for boxing is something that French President Emmanuel Macron and Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) share. At today's meeting in Paris, however, one can expect more of a verbal exchange of blows between the two heads of government. "In addition to the romanticized idea of the French of Austria dancing at balls, it is above all the clichéd image of the 'third man' that is prevalent in Paris," says political scientist Marie Krpata from the French Institute for International Relations in Paris to the "Krone".

Russia as a central theme
Vienna, the center of international espionage. And the recently revealed involvement of Austrian secret service officials with Moscow makes the chancellor's trip to Paris more difficult. Russia and the war in Ukraine will be the central topic at the Élysée Palace on Thursday.

Both Macron and Nehammer had sought a political solution with Vladimir Putin at the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Nehammer traveled to Moscow to see the Kremlin leader, Macron made intensive efforts to reach out to Putin. Both failed. While France's president made a U-turn in 2023 and is now taking at least verbal offensive action against Putin, Nehammer is still seeking a diplomatic solution.

Different views
When it comes to economic issues, Austria is one of the "frugal" countries in Europe, while Macron is even thinking aloud about whether the EU should not take on joint debt for military support for Ukraine - as it did during the coronavirus crisis. There are also topics such as migration, competitiveness and Europe as a business location. So there is plenty to talk about. "The challenging geopolitical situation makes it necessary to be closely coordinated within the EU," said the Chancellor.