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Spain’s Congress narrowly blocked a Vox-led niqab ban this week, but the battle over religious attire is far from over as Catalan rivals push for a new identification-based alternative.
The Spanish Congress of Deputies on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, voted 177 to 170 to reject a controversial bill from the far-right Vox party that sought to criminalize the burqa and niqab in public spaces. The proposed law, which included hefty fines and prison sentences for those mandating the garments, failed after the pro-independence party Junts provided the decisive "no" votes. However, in a strategic pivot that mirrors shifting tactics across Europe, Junts immediately registered its own alternative proposal. Rather than focusing on religious ideology, the Junts bill frames the restriction as a matter of public security and mandatory identification, a move designed to pass the "European filter" of the European Court of Human Rights.
This legislative standoff in Madrid reflects a growing "identity crisis" across the continent. In the United Kingdom, Reform UK politicians have recently suggested that face coverings should be subject to enhanced stop-and-search powers, while Portugal’s parliament recently approved its own restrictive measure currently awaiting presidential signature. Critics argue these bans target a tiny fraction of the population to fuel far-right narratives ahead of Spain's 2027 general election. Meanwhile, the Spanish government, led by the Socialists, remains cautious, with Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz warning that blanket bans likely violate constitutional protections for religious freedom and personal autonomy.
The next phase of this debate will focus on whether "security" can legally override "freedom." By pivoting the discussion from religious suppression to public identification, parties like Junts are attempting to find a legal loophole that could eventually lead to a partial ban in regions like Catalonia. For now, the burqa remains legal in Spain, but the political pressure to regulate "visible identity" is reaching a boiling point across European capitals.
