Austria is the latest country to ban people from wearing a full-face veil in public. The Austrian parliament approved the ban on Tuesday evening. The ban was part of a series of rules designed to help migrants better integrate to the country, and also included stipulations that migrants take classes to learn German. Migrants were also encouraged to volunteer for charitable organizations.
From POLITICO:
Those who wear veils that cover their facial features from October may have to pay a €150 fine.
Other measures in the new rules include a one-year obligatory integration course including German language tuition for migrants who have a good chance of staying in Austria. The laws also encourage asylum seekers to do unpaid charitable work, with the aim of preparing for the labor market.
The government proposed the measures, which the far-right Freedom Party of Austria criticized for not going far enough and the Greens slammed for going too far, earlier this year.
The ban on full-face veils go into effect in October. People who are found to be wearing the veils in public will be fined 150 euro.
Several other European countries, including France and Belgium, have also banned the wearing of full-face veils in public. Austrian courts have previously ruled that companies have the right to ban their employees from wearing a veil.