Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern announced on Saturday his government's intention to tighten domestic laws to combat espionage, while warning of attempts to destabilize and influence Western European democracies.

In an interview with the local newspaper Der Standard, Kern stated: "We will tighten the laws and also make it illegal for a foreign spy to spy on another spy - something that hasn't been prohibited until now."

He confirmed the existence of attempts to influence Western European democracies through destabilization efforts, disinformation campaigns, and cyberattacks, adding that "we cannot rule out this happening in Austria as well."

According to the new government's program, a package of counter-espionage measures includes amending Article 319 of the Penal Code, which currently criminalizes providing military intelligence services to foreign states. The amendment will expand this to cover civilian intelligence agencies as well.

Additionally, the disclosure of military secrets by civilians is expected to become a punishable offense under the new legislation.