During a closed meeting today, the government heard the Justice Ministry's report on the possibility to ban face covering in public places.
The Justice Ministry and Foreign Ministry will have to carry out an all-embracing assessment of whether a ban on face covering in public places is necessary.
Based on the results of the assessment, the Justice Ministry will draft relevant legislation and submit it to the Cabinet of Ministers by March 1 next year.
This past summer, President Raimodns Vejonis said in an interview with the AP news agency that he supported a ban on burqa.
Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (Unity), however, was more cautious in his statements. The Muslim community in Latvia has been successfully integrated, thus it must be carefully evaluated whether the idea of banning the wearing of Muslim veils in public is necessary, said Kozlovskis.
"Latvia should not create problems where there are none. Our experience also shows that most of the asylum seekers from the Muslim community which have resided at the "Mucenieki" refugee center respect Latvian cultural traditions and have adapted to the local circumstances and situation," Kozlovskis pointed out.
Legislation for banning wearing the burqa in public was proposed by the Regional Alliance, but the law fell at the first hurdle, with MPs being rather disinterested in the proposal.
