Excerpt:
Austrian foreign minister Sebastian Kurz has weighed in on the burqa issue, saying in parliament on Thursday that a proposed ban on the religious garment will not solve the integration issues which the country faces.
Kurz, who is Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Integration, spoke in Thursday's National Council question time against the burqa ban requested by the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ).
Responding to a motion from the FPÖ, Kurz said "With a ban on the burqa, we will not solve [the problem of] integration in Austria." There is in Austria a very small number of people who wear the burqa, and most of them come from Saudi Arabia to visit Zell am See - a popular high-end tourist destination - or Vienna's exclusive shopping area in the Kohlmarkt, where they spend a lot of money, he said.