16 February 2017, 13:53 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The lower house of the German parliament agreed a bill that will ban soldiers and civil servants from covering their faces while performing their duties.
The draft legislation, published on the Bundestag website, said wearing full-face veils ran counter to the responsibility of state employees to remain neutral in their interactions with one another and other citizens.
"Wearing a religious or ideologically-motivated face cover while on service… violates this mandatory neutrality," the text read.
The decision comes months after Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a nationwide ban on full-face Muslim veils where it was legally possible. France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland and the Netherlands have similar restrictions in place.
