Other countries are moving towards that ban

The news from Belgium is that the parliamentary Interior Affairs Committee has unanimously endorsed a Bill that would outlaw the wearing of burqua or the niquab or any other veil in public places. This will now go to a full parliamentary debate before the end of April.

New Europe reports that the European Commission has reacted cautiously both to this and to the continuing discussions in France:

A Commission spokesperson said that they were concerned at the move, but initially it was a matter for member states, but they would be watching the issue and examining any bill put before the Belgian lawmakers very closely as it may fall foul of EU anti-discrimination policy.

The same article also quotes Lord Pearson on the subject as saying:

It is good to see that the French and the Belgians are moving in our direction on this important issue.

One has to overlook the routine reference to UKIP as being extreme right-wing. A media outlet like New Europe is unlikely to understand that those political definitions long ago outlived their usefulness.