The veils in this article are obviously niqabs and burqas.
Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, has called veils worn by Muslim women obstacles to communication.
Barroso made the comments in an interview published in Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper on Thursday.
Commenting on a controversy that has broken out most recently in Europe in Britain, Barroso was quoted as saying that he opposed laws that said what could and could not be worn.
"But there are matters of common sense," he said.
"I give you an example: a teacher who presents herself to students with a completely veiled face is not doing something reasonable in our society.
"And in general, if a person wants to communicate she can't present herself with a veil that covers her entire face, except for a small opening for the eyes. It's clear that that's an obstacle."
The controversy
By making such comments, Barroso threw himself into the highly charged debate that has broken out in some European countries.
"If a person wants to communicate she can't present herself with a veil that covers her entire face, except for a small opening for the eyes. It's clear that that's an obstacle"
Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president
The controversy about veils in Europe was rekindled when Jack Straw, Britain's former foreign minister, said Muslim women who wore full veils made community relations difficult, calling veils a "visible statement of separation and difference".
Tony Blair, the British prime minister, called veils a "mark of separation", while Romano Prodi, the Italian prime minister said it was a matter of common sense that people show their faces in public.
The question of whether Europe is doing enough to integrate Muslims has been addressed by the government since the attacks in July last year when British-born Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people.
Source: Al Jazeera (English)
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