Bulgaria's Parliament approved today legislation outlawing face-covering Islamic veils in public. Bulgaria joins a small number of EU countries as the debate rages across Europe about religious freedoms. <br/><br/>The law bans wearing in public clothing that partially or completely covers the face, referring to the burqa or the more common niqab. <br/><br/>Minimum fine for infringements is 200 leva (114 US dollars) and maximum 1,500 leva for repeated offences. Bulgaria's mostly centuries-old Muslim community, dating back to conversions during Ottoman times, makes up around 13 percent of the population, mostly in the Turkish minority.