A new bill, which was tabled by the nationalist Patriotic Front party (PF), was backed by 108 MPs, with just eight voting against it and no abstentions, at its first reading.
If passed, Bulgaria will join fellow European countries Latvia, France and the Netherlands in prohibiting clothing that covers the face.
Fines of 200 leva (£80) for the first and second offences will be incurred, and further offences will receive a 1,500 leva fine and deprivation of social benefits......About 12 per cent of Bulgaria's 7.2 million population are Muslim, most of whom belong to a centuries-old community of ethnic Turks.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bulgaria-ban-niqab-burqa-face-veil-muslim-a7087856.html
