Austria bans the burka and demands all refugees take intensive language lessons in new migrant clampdown
The move has had a mixed reception in the country with some thinking it is too harsh while others argue it doesn't go far enough
AUSTRIA has approved a ban on the burka amongst a series of other controversial steps to integrate migrants.
Compulsory language lessons will also be enforced from October after the proposals were rubber stamped by the country's parliament last night.
From the autumn those seen out in public wearing a full face covering will be subjected to a fine of around £128.
Migrants to the European nation will also be forced to undergo a one-year integration course including intensive training in understanding German.
They will also be urged, but not forced, to carry out charity work while preparing to enter the country.
This aspect of the plan is allegedly meant to help them prepare for a working life.
But the right wing Freedom Party opposed the measures arguing that they did no go far enough, while the Greens said the were too strong.
Back in January, Chancellor Christian Kern said the niqab and burka ban will be enforced over the next 18 months.
He said: “The full-face veil will be banned in public spaces."
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The agreement read: “We believe in an open society that is also based on open communication. Full-body veils in public spaces stand against that and will therefore be prohibited.”
The coalition said police officers, judges, magistrates and public prosecutors should not wear head scarves so they could appear “ideologically and religiously neutral” while serving the state.
The news comes just weeks after MPs in neighbouring Germany approved a ban on the full-face burka for female public servants at work as part of a package of new security measures aimed to prevent ISIS attacks.
The Bundestag lower house of parliament agreed to a draft law today that will stop female civil servants, judges and soldiers in Germany from wearing full-face veils at work.
The text of the law passed reads: “The state has a duty to present itself in an ideologically and religiously neutral manner.”
New security measures also include the use of electronic ankle bracelets for people deemed a security threat – like known Islamic radicals considered potentially violent by security services.
Last year Angela Merkel called for a ban on the Burka for the first time amid concerns she seemed soft on immigration.
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