In 2024, NEOS criticised the appointment of Fate Velaj as Albania’s ambassador to Vienna. Today, NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger heads Austria’s Foreign Ministry — and her ministry must now provide information on the documents relating to the appointment process at the time.

Through a request filed under Austria’s Freedom of Information Act (IFG), the editorial team is seeking to establish what documents the Foreign Ministry holds concerning the accreditation of Fate Velaj and his subsequent activities. The request contains 88 questions. Three issues are at the centre of the inquiry: the accreditation procedure itself, communications between Vienna and Tirana, and how the ministry assessed Velaj’s activities as an author and artist.

From a Parliamentary Question to a Freedom of Information Request

In 2024, then-NEOS member of the National Council Helmut Brandstätter and several other MPs submitted a parliamentary question concerning Velaj’s proposed appointment (18722/J).

Meinl-Reisinger was not involved in the decision at the time. She only took over as Foreign Minister in March 2025. Her ministry is, however, now responsible for handling the Freedom of Information request. This means that a question raised by her party while it was in opposition has now landed on the desk of the ministry she leads.

Why the Agrément Was Delayed

According to the Foreign Ministry’s response to the parliamentary question in 2024, the procedure took several months. Among the issues requiring clarification were Velaj’s then Austrian-Albanian dual citizenship and his previous commercial activities in Austria.

The ministry referred to Article 42 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Under that provision, diplomats may generally not practise any professional or commercial activity for personal profit in the receiving state.

The subsequent steps can be dated precisely. On 19 March 2024, the ministry was informed that Velaj had relinquished his Austrian citizenship. On 3 April 2024, Austria granted its agrément. In June 2024, Velaj presented his credentials.

What the Ministry Is Being Asked to Disclose

The request seeks access to existing notes verbales, internal memoranda, legal assessments and correspondence between the authorities in Vienna and Tirana. Among other things, it seeks to establish whether Austria initially suggested that Albania nominate a different person and, if so, why that position was later abandoned.

Further questions concern Velaj’s activities as an author and artist, the sale of his own books and artworks during his tenure, and possible support for book presentations by institutions affiliated with the Foreign Ministry.

The editorial team is also asking about any potential personal interventions in the accreditation process, whether Velaj’s academic qualifications were reviewed, and a declaration of assets published in Albania.

A Freedom of Information request is not evidence of wrongdoing. Several of the questions are explicitly aimed at determining whether the relevant files, records or indications exist at all. The request does not allege criminal conduct or claim that any investigation is currently under way.

Vienna Opera Ball: Was Velaj Discussed?

In February 2026, Meinl-Reisinger invited her Albanian counterpart, Elisa Spiropali, to join her in her box at the Vienna Opera Ball. Spiropali had previously also appeared at events involving Velaj. She attended a forum on European integration organised by him and spoke at the presentation of one of his books.

The request therefore asks whether Velaj’s accreditation or his activities as ambassador were discussed in conversations with Spiropali or other representatives of the Albanian government. At present, there is no evidence of any intervention on Velaj’s behalf.

Deadline

Under Austria’s Freedom of Information Act, a decision on access to existing information must be made without undue delay and no later than four weeks after receipt of the request. In exceptional circumstances, this period may be extended by a further four weeks.

It remains to be seen which documents the ministry will disclose and which, if any, it will withhold on grounds of confidentiality.

Credits: BKA